According to the 2005 American Community Study by the Center for Personal Assistance Services, approximately 95,000 individuals living in Vermont are considered to be disabled in some manner. Specifically, about 2.4% of the population of Vermont have difficulty with every day tasks such as taking a bath, getting dressed, moving about the house, and driving.

At the VMi New England Mobility Center, we offer specialized transportation products and services for private and commercial use. For more than 25 years we have been servicing the commercial and personal wheelchair vehicle needs of the state of Vermont including the Burlington area and Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle counties.

If your business needs a new or used accessible van, bus, shuttle or other commercial vehicle in Vermont, look through our online inventory to find the vehicle that’s right for you. View our commercial accessible vehicles, used vans and buses, modifications and accessories or visit our commercial wheelchair van and bus inventory.

We can help you evaluate how many passengers you need to carry, Vermont state regulatory requirements and other commercial considerations when buying a wheelchair van, replacement parts or accessories.

After VMi New England Mobility Center helps you locate the perfect commercial wheelchair van, bus, shuttle, or ambulette, we deliver! We can deliver it right to your door. We will drive, tow or trailer your wheelchair accessible vehicle to Vermont, to your business. We often make deliveries to Burlington, South Burlington, as well as Franklin, Grand Isle and Chittenden counties, so contact us today for your commercial mobility needs, so contact us today.

Learn more about delivery information for Vermont wheelchair vans and parts and our commercial warranty.

We look forward to helping your business provide exceptional service to your wheelchair users, school students, group homes, and rehab centers in the great state of Vermont.

ADA Design Guide 1 – Restriping Parking Lots

Accessible Parking Spaces

When a business, State or local government agency, or other covered entity restripes a parking lot, it must provide accessible parking spaces as required by the ADA Standards for Accessible Design. Failure to do so would violate the ADA.

In addition, businesses or privately owned facilities that provide goods or services to the public have a continuing ADA obligation to remove barriers to access in existing parking lots when it is readily achievable to do so. Because restriping is relatively inexpensive, it is readily achievable in most cases.

This ADA Design Guide provides key information about how to create accessible car and van spaces and how many spaces to provide when parking lots are restriped.

(illustration showing a woman getting out of the driver’s side of a car into a manual wheelchair)

 

Accessible Parking Spaces for Cars

Accessible parking spaces for cars have at least a 60-inch-wide access aisle located adjacent to the designated parking space. The access aisle is just wide enough to permit a person using a wheelchair to enter or exit the car. These parking spaces are identified with a sign and located on level ground.

 

Van-Accessible Parking Spaces

Van-accessible parking spaces are the same as accessible parking spaces for cars except for three features needed for vans:

a wider access aisle (96″) to accommodate a wheelchair lift;

vertical clearance to accommodate van height at the van parking space, the adjacent access aisle, and on the vehicular route to and from the van-accessible space, and

an additional sign that identifies the parking spaces as “van accessible.”

One of eight accessible parking spaces, but always at least one, must be van-accessible.

 

(illustration showing a van with a side-mounted wheelchair lift lowered onto a marked access aisle at a van-accessible parking space. A person using a wheelchair is getting out of the van. A dashed line shows the route from the lift to the sidewalk.)

Features of Accessible Parking Spaces for Cars

(plan drawing showing an accessible parking space for cars with a 96 inch wide designated parking space, a 60 inch wide min. marked access aisle and the following notes)

Sign with the international symbol of accessibility mounted high enough so it can be seen while a vehicle is parked in the space.

If the accessible route is located in front of the space, install wheelstops to keep vehicles from reducing width below 36 inches.

Access aisle of at least 60-inch width must be level (1:50 maximum slope in all directions), be the same length as the adjacent parking space(s) it serves and must connect to an accessible route to the building. Ramps must not extend into the access aisle.

Boundary of the access aisle must be marked. The end may be a squared or curved shape.

Two parking spaces may share an access aisle.

 

Three Additional Features for Van-Accessible Parking Spaces

(plan drawing showing a van-accessible parking space with a 96 inch wide designated parking space, a 96 inch wide min. marked access aisle and the following notes)

Sign with “van accessible” and the international symbol of accessibility mounted high enough so the sign can be seen when a vehicle is parked in the space

96″ min. width access aisle, level (max. slope 1:50 in all directions), located beside the van parking space

Min. 98-inch-high clearance at van parking space, access aisle, and on vehicular route to and from van space

Minimum Number of Accessible Parking Spaces

(text of following table)

Total Parking Total Minimum Van Accessible Accessible Parking

Spaces Provided Number of Accessible Parking Spaces Spaces with

(per lot) Parking Spaces with min. 96″ min. 60″ wide

(60″ & 96″ aisles)wide access aisle access aisle

 

1 to 25 1 1 0

26 to 50 2 1 1

51 to 75 3 1 2

76 to 100 4 1 3

101 to 150 5 1 4

151 to 200 6 1 5

201 to 300 7 1 6

301 to 400 8 1 7

401 to 500 9 2 7

501 to 1000 2% of total

parking provided 1/8 of Column A* 7/8 of Column A**

in each lot

1001 and over 20 plus 1 for

each 100 1/8 of Column A* 7/8 of Column A**

over 1000

* one out of every 8 accessible spaces ** 7 out of every 8 accessible parking spaces

 

Location

Accessible parking spaces must be located on the shortest accessible route of travel to an accessible facility entrance. Where buildings have multiple accessible entrances with adjacent parking, the accessible parking spaces must be dispersed and located closest to the accessible entrances.

When accessible parking spaces are added in an existing parking lot, locate the spaces on the most level ground close to the accessible entrance. An accessible route must always be provided from the accessible parking to the accessible entrance. An accessible route never has curbs or stairs, must be at least 3- feet wide, and has a firm, stable, slip-resistant surface. The slope along the accessible route should not be greater than 1:12 in the direction of travel.

Accessible parking spaces may be clustered in one or more lots if equivalent or greater accessibility is provided in terms of distance from the accessible entrance, parking fees, and convenience. Van-accessible parking spaces located in parking garages may be clustered on one floor (to accommodate the 98-inch minimum vertical height requirement).

 

Free Technical Assistance

Answers to technical and general questions about restriping parking lots or other ADA requirements are available by telephone on weekdays. You may also order the ADA Standards for Accessible Design and other ADA publications, including regulations for private businesses or State and local governments, at any time day or night. Information about ADA-related IRS tax credits and deductions is also available from the ADA Information Line.

Department of Justice

ADA Information Line

800-514-0301 (voice)

800-514-0383 (tty)

 

Internet

You may also review or download information on the Department’s ADA Internet site at any time. The site provides access to ADA regulations, technical assistance materials, and general ADA information. It also provides links to other Federal agencies, and updates on new ADA requirements and enforcement efforts. Internet address:

www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/index.html

 

Reference:

ADA Standards for Accessible Design (28 CFR Part 36):

§ 4.1.6 Alterations;

§ 4.1.2 Accessible Sites and Exterior Facilities: New Construction, and

§ 4.1.6 Parking and Passenger Loading Zones.