When your asphalt paving contractor constructed your parking lot, he probably gave you some good advice about making your pavement last its longest and look its best. For example, you were probably told that sealcoating both protects and beautifies an asphalt pavement, or you may have been informed of the need to have cracks repaired promptly to prevent damage to the pavement’s base. However, unless your contractor was also highly knowledgeable about ADA striping and marking parking lots, the requirements to ensure that your fire lane and the rest of your lot comply with all applicable laws and ordinances may not have been a topic of discussion.
How To Keep Your Parking Lot Compliant With Fire Lane & ADA Striping
How Can I Tell Whether My Fire Lane Is Compliant?
The answer to this question is a bit complicated. The National Fire Protection Association has written numerous standards and codes that cover a wide range of topics, including fire lanes. However, every local government is free to set more stringent standards, adjust the codes to better suit conditions in the area, or appoint an individual or a department to inspect for compliance. To give you an example, the NFPA states that curbs adjacent to a fire lane should be painted yellow, but the fire codes in Cobb County state that the curbs should be painted red, while Atlanta will accept red or a different color that is distinctive and acceptable to the fire chief. As another example, the NFPA recommends that signs identifying a fire lane should be posted no more than 50 feet apart, but Cobb County ordinances state that the signs should be no more than 100 feet apart. Therefore, you should ask a well-experienced and highly knowledgeable striping contractor to help you determine whether your fire lane complies with the codes covering your exact location.
How Do I Tell Whether My Parking Lot Complies With the ADA?
It would be nice to tell you that the ADA is much easier to understand than the codes that cover fire lanes, but that would not be accurate. One entire chapter of the ADA is devoted to parking spaces; curb ramps, accessible routes, and loading zones are covered elsewhere. Even the number of accessible spaces is not a question that has a blanket answer. For most businesses with fewer than 100 parking spaces, at least 4% must be accessible, but certain health care facilities may need to devote up to 20% of their total spaces to accessible parking. The ADA is quite specific about compliant markings and signs, the locations of the accessible parking spaces, and a multitude of other details. Therefore, a qualified paving contractor is your best source and most reliable method of determining your ADA compliance.
How Often Should My Contractor Check My Parking Lot for Compliance?
It is a good idea to verify your compliance before you have your parking lot sealed or striped. If you hire an experienced paving maintenance contractor, any necessary asphalt repair will be made first. This gives your contractor an opportunity to inspect for compliance issues. If any are found, this is the time to make any corrections to your layout to bring your parking lot into compliance. Generally, once your lot is in full compliance, you will not incur any penalties due to a change in the law, but you will be required to correct any deficiencies when you have your parking lot striped after the law becomes effective.
Greeson Sealcoating is an expert in local fire codes as well as the specifics of the ADA striping. We are an established pavement maintenance company with extensive experience and an exceptional reputation for providing customers with outstanding service and extraordinary work. Our services include asphalt crack sealing, sealcoating, parking lot striping, asphalt repair, and the installation of parking lot signs, car stops, and bollards. Contact us today for a free, no-strings-attached quote. You can use our online form, or you can reach our Marietta office by calling 770-335-2983.
