NEW ADA STANDARDS Signed in by Obama

The new federal standards for the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law by Obama yesterday on the 20th Anniversary of the signing of the ADA by the first George Bush.

You can see Obama’s speech below:

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Good evening, everybody. (Applause.) Thank you so much. Well, we have a gorgeous day to celebrate an extraordinary event in the life of this nation. Welcome, all of you, to our White House. And thank you, Robert, for the wonderful introduction. It is a pleasure and honor to be with all of you on the 20th anniversary of one of the most comprehensive civil rights bills in the history of this country — the Americans with Disabilities Act. (Applause.)

(Obama’s Speech on the ADA continued…)

You can also read the updated guidelines as they apply to the older regulations. Basically the ANSI/IBC standards of 2004 which incorporated the ADAAG 2004 have been absorbed into the Revised Standards of 2010. Facilities which are going to undergo construction 18 months from this date need to comply with the 2010 standards IF they have not yet complied with the 1991 standards. You can see the text directly below.

Title 2 ADA regulations for 2010

Many of the 2010 requirements are stricter. A major difference is that the 1991 requirement for van accessible space be 1 for every 8 total accessible spaces has changed to 1 for every 6. Another difference is the increase of space required for a side transfer in a single user toilet stall from 3 feet to 5 feet. These new standards reinforce, add or revoke existing 1991 standards. If you are thinking of updating to these new standards, you may not have to. There is a short window for businesses to comply to the 1991 standards before the 2010 take effect. Where the 2010 standards revoke the 1991 standards we can point those out to save you the time and effort of complying to standards which will no longer be necessary. We can help you navigate these and more.

If you have any questions, of course feel free to email us at help@accesssolutionllc.com or call our toll free number at 866-982-3212×2.