Accessible Facilities

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New Facilities

All new facilities are required to comply with the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design.

These standards were adopted by the U.S. Department of Justice on September 15, 2010. These standards went into effect on March 15th, 2012.  They were developed by the U.S. Access Board.

  • All new construction must adhere to these standards. 
  • All renovations and alterations, regardless when the building was originally built, must follow the same accessibility standards as new construction.
  • The Access Board provides a companion online guide, which includes detailed color diagrams, examples, and answers to common questions. Guide to the 2010 Standards for Accessible Design.
  • A series of animations showing how people with disabilities use various elements such as bathrooms is also included in the Guide.


20% Disproportionate Costs/Path of Travel Improvements

Anytime alterations are made to a building or facility where barriers still exist, 20 percent of the construction costs must be spent on barrier removal on the “path of travel”. For ADA purposes, the “path of travel” also includes restrooms, telephones, and drinking fountains. Any alteration to a “primary function area” triggers the requirement. A “primary function area” is an area where the activities are germane to the building or facility.

Removing or correcting barriers can be simple and inexpensive in one facility, but difficult and costly in another. For this reason, the ADA sets out a flexible rule for removing barriers. When the cost of improvements made to the path of travel exceeds 20% of the cost of the alteration to the primary function area, the ADA considers this ratio to be disproportionate, in which case the path of travel need only be made accessible to the extent necessary without having to incur the disproportionate cost.

Anytime alterations are made to a building or facility where ADA deficiencies at the path of travel still exist, up to 20 percent of the construction costs must be spent on barrier removal at the “path of travel”. For example: If the construction cost of alterations equals $100, then a maximum of $20 will need to be spent on barrier removal at the “path of travel”.


Existing Facilities

The ADA does not require existing buildings (built prior to 1991) to fully meet the ADA’s standards for newly constructed facilities. However, facilities built prior to the passage of the ADA, still have an obligation to remove barriers when it is readily achievable to do so. Note: There is no “Grandfather Clause” in the ADA. All buildings, regardless of age, are required to remove barriers. Businesses that operate from an existing facility are required to remove barriers that are “readily achievable.” Readily achievable means easily accomplishable and able to be carried out without much difficulty or expense.

Many building features that are common in older facilities such as narrow doors, a step or a round door knob at an entrance door, or a crowded check-out or store aisle are barriers to access by people with disabilities. Because removing these and other common barriers can be simple and inexpensive in some cases and difficult and costly in others, the regulations for the ADA provide a flexible approach to compliance. This practical approach requires that barriers be removed in existing facilities only when it is readily achievable to do so.

Title II entities such as local governments and schools that provide services from existing facilities are required to make changes necessary to provide “program access” to their services. Program access may include changes that do not remove accessibility barriers to the existing structure. Instead, actions may be taken such as moving services to another building that is accessible or moving services to another floor of the existing building.

Safe Harbor

Elements that have not been altered in existing facilities on or after March 15, 2012, and that comply with the 1991 Standards or in the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS), are not required to be modified in order to comply with the 2010 Standards.

Resources for Existing Facilities:

Public Right-of-Way

Public right-of-way covers access to to sidewalks and streets, crosswalks, curb ramps, pedestrian signals, on-street parking, and other components such as shared use paths for bicyclists and pedestrians.