What Is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?

Americans with Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was established in 1990. It was passed to prohibit discrimination for persons with disabilities and to allow them access to specific areas that were previously problematic. These included areas such as employment, medical care, education, and government buildings. It also allowed them to use various forms of transportation and required different agencies to accommodate these disabilities as overseen by the Department of Justice.

One of the major parts of the act was the physical access requirements of all public buildings. This part of the act established ADA detectable warning requirements for all points where pedestrians would encounter traffic or doorways that could inhibit a person with visual disabilities. With there being over 500,000 persons in the United States currently suffering some type of visual disability, this was imperative to allow them to receive use of the public transportation system.

The ADA also prohibited places used by the public to discriminate against persons with disabilities. This included places such as hotels, restaurants, retail merchants, and doctor’s offices. The businesses must make “reasonable accommodations” for these persons, including ensuring their safety with detectable warning systems, including visual, audial, and/or tactile.

It even has provisions requiring close captioning for all federally funded public service announcements, so persons with hearing disabilities can benefit from the announcement. Additionally, it has required telephone companies to provide telecommunications for persons with hearing or speech disabilities.

To find out more about the requirements and regulations of the ADA, and how it relates to your business and tactile warning systems, please call ADA Tile today at 800-372-0519.

Facts About ADA Compliance Tiles

Truncated Domes ADA Requirements

There are several different things you should know about the tactile detection requirements mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

  • Since 2001, all transitional areas require tactilely detectable tiles to help promote safety for all persons.
  • Truncated domes meet all of the ADA tile requirements, as they are easily seen and can be felt through the soles of most shoes or noticed by a person with visual disabilities using a white cane for guidance.
  • You can have them installed when you pour the sidewalk, or they can be applied to the surface with little extra effort.
  • The ADA requires detectable tiles at all intersections where a sidewalk enters or leaves a motorway.
  • Detectable tiles are also required at the edges of boarding platforms for trains and/or subways.
  • Anyone found violating this act can be fined and may have to pay all court costs associated with the lawsuit. So, adding these to your sidewalk and walkways can save you thousands of dollars.
  • The tiles must be non-slip and must have raised areas of specific sizes to make them detectable for everyone, regardless of their visual abilities.
  • They must be contrasting colors to help sighted individuals notice the transition, such as light tiles on dark surfaces and dark tiles on light surfaces.

To find out more about the benefits and ease of adding tactile warning surfaces to your next construction or renovation, please contact ADA Tile at 800-372-0519.

Why We Love Detectable Warning Surfaces (and You Should, Too!)

ADA detectable warning

There are many reasons to love detectable warning surfaces. One of the main reasons is that they are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which can save you thousands of dollars in litigation and fines.  They also provide safety for your customers, your visitors, and your employees.

One of the main advantages of a tactile warning surface is that it is detectable in several different ways. The first is it can be felt through most shoes, allowing people (even if they are staring at their phones) to know they are reaching a point where they need to look up and see if it is safe for them to continue forward. They are also detectible by white canes, so people with visual disabilities will know to stop and proceed with caution.

Protecting people is the responsibility of everyone who builds walkways and roads. Letting people enjoy long walks is good for their health and detectable warning surfaces allow them to enjoy their walk in safety because they will know where the sidewalk ends and the road begins.

With a little imagination, you can even make your warning surface attractive and allow it to stand out as an addition to your construction instead of as a distraction. Combining public safety with visual attractiveness is important to the successful architect and construction team. For more information, please call ADA Tile at 800-372-0519.

History of the ADA and Detectable Warning Surfaces

Detectable Warning Surfaces

In 1990, the federal government passed the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) which helped protect the rights of persons with both physical and mental disabilities. It was needed because many public places were not accessible to these persons, and they were unable to access important places, such as hospitals, grocery stores, and government buildings.

In 1991 the ADA was expanded to include detectable warnings for all areas where public walkways intruded on motorways, such as sidewalks, crosswalks, and platforms for trains and subways. The Department of Justice (DOJ) was assigned to oversee the ADA and to make sure that all public areas were compliant with the ruling.

Also in 1991, the DOJ placed a suspension on the detectable warning part of the act to allow different entities to research the viability of various designs for different surfaces. This included grooves, striations, and exposed aggregate at many crosswalks and intersections. The suspension did not include transit platform edges, such as those next to subways, because the danger there is much greater than on a motorway.

In 2001, the DOJ chose to let the suspension expire because research showed that the methods explored were not as effective as truncated domes as most of them could be mistaken for irregularities often found on most walkways.

To help you be compliant with the ADA requirements for sidewalks, please call ADA Tile at 800-372-0519 for more information.

Different Types of Truncated Dome Tiles

Truncated Dome Tiles

There are a few different choices when looking at ADA compliant tiles for your next construction project. There are different types of tiles, each with its own specialized use and color, to help you meet all of the requirements set down by the ADA.

The first is a radius system, which is a truncated dome surface that complies with all ADA requirements. This type of tile comes in three different versions:

  1. The cast in place replaceable.
  2. The cast in place.
  3. The surface applied.

All cast in place tiles are designed for new construction and are installed in wet concrete. Surface applied tiles are designed to be retrofitted onto an existing concrete substrate. There are a couple of different types of tiles that can be combined to make your construction even safer for people with visual impairments.

One of the first is that of guide tiles that allow visually impaired pedestrians to know they are keeping to a straight line when crossing a roadway. These tiles help prevent persons with visual impairments from diverging into traffic, especially in areas with light traffic.

There are also directional bar tiles, which can be used alone or with truncated dome tiles to help guide visually impaired pedestrians on specific paths. In addition, there are a variety of different color options available, so you can ensure your tiles are as visually appealing as the rest of your construction.

For more information or to find out which tiles are right for your next project, please call ADA Solutions at 800-372-0519.