How Wide Should a Handicap Ramp Be for Accessibility

Constructing a handicap ramp is one of the most critical elements in making homes, local neighborhoods and shared spaces accessible for all. Whether for an individual homeowner or their HOA, it’s important to keep in mind ramp width, turning spaces, proper design and hazards to ensure you meet ADA specifications. When built appropriately, the ramp will provide accessibility, safety, compliance and comfort for both residents and visitors alike! While intended for use by people with disabilities, a properly designed ramp can also simplify life for parents with strollers, delivery drivers, and others who may not easily navigate stairs.

To learn more about handicap ramp, follow this link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheelchair_ramp.

Minimum ADA Width Rules

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) outlines a minimum clear width of 36 inches for all handicap ramps. This is a clear width measured between the handrails, so the ramp will often be wider than that. Even for ramps with no handrails, a width of 36 inches allows for enough clearance to fit a wheelchair through.

For outdoor projects, and especially those that involve pouring concrete or asphalt, the minimum widths are valuable to ensure compliance and not running into expensive mistakes later on. Just like driveway paving, or parking lot striping must all be completed to proper standards, so must accessibility ramps — and the guidelines for accessibility ramps are constantly stricter. Contractors working on road construction, or large paving projects emphasize the need to follow the ADA down the smallest detail, or the property owner can have a serious liability/violation issue.

Extra Width for Safety

There is a reason why the ADA have minimums, but I’m certain that most builders would prefer wider ramps than 36 inches. Wider ramps give users more safety and more options moving over ramps especially for larger sized wheelchairs or walkers. Wider ramp areas may also be something the HOAs that manage public areas want because they allow people to navigate around each other or for a caregiver to walk next to a resident.

Wider ramp spaces is especially important in heavy traffic areas like community centers or clubhouses. When considering the design of ramps and the desire for additional widths, we should consider the following:

• There is a possibility of more than one resident passing each other where the ramp space is wide enough,
• Accommodation allowing caregivers or family members to walk alongside wheelchair users,
• Accessibility for larger scooters, powered chairs and medical equipment, without restriction.

Just like sealcoating of a parking lot provides protection to assure longer performance, additional width maximizes a long-term usage option and safety for residences. Although the general design of a sidewalk may not have any real consequences on its overall use, this small redesign opens up a large improvement in daily accessibility.

Turning Space Requirements

Ramps are usually connected to landings, doors, or walkways and wheelchair users need to have the ability to turn safely. The ADA required landing at the top and bottom of every run shall be level. The minimum length shall be 60 inches. If turns are required, the turning space to allow a wheelchair to turn safely shall provide a square 60 inch by 60-inch area.

Turning spaces allow for use without bottlenecks and ensure the user does not struggle to negotiate the areas between ramps and entrances. Homeowners should keep in mind that these turning spaces may need to be paved with asphalt or concrete to stabilize the area. When contemplating handicap ramp installation Nashville, homeowners can consider that licensed contractors can help them plan turning spaces in order to meet all the requirements.

Van Access Considerations

Accessible parking lots also factor into ramps. Ramps that lead to van-accessible spaces must align with curb cuts and allow for a minimum of 96 inches of height for lift systems and can connect to parking lots.

HOA’s or homeowners will want to understand how asphalt paving and striping can coordinate with ramp placement before building and installing a ramp if it connects to a parking lot. To fully make ramps van accessible they should allow for:

• A minimum clearance of 96 inches for side-entry lifts
• Gentle slopes that matches curb cuts to create a smooth accessible route
• Proper parking area striping and markings to control vehicle traffic

Van access concerns not only width but proper slope and alignment as well. A ramp that is poorly installed can cause concerns for a variety of traffic operations such as restricting vehicle driveway traffic flow or not accommodating parking lot striping correctly. In much the same way that road construction projects must accommodate the clearance the vehicles, residential and community ramp designs must take van users into account from the start.

Mistakes in Ramp Width Design

But even with ADA written standards, mistakes inevitably happen when ramps are installed at the minimum width or if the ramp is designed without taking into account the turning area requirements. For some residents, these mistakes can make the ramp unusable because of the costly second installation. Visit this link for more information.

The most common mistakes include:

• Installing ramps at the minimum width and not recognizing the need for handrails or edging
• Not providing level landings at the top and bottom of ramps
• Not considering van access when ramps are linking to the parking lots
• Not utilizing even paving materials so that there will not be trip hazards

Most of these problems are due to rushing the project and skipping on the professional planning. Design and construction of accessibility ramps, or similar structure both need to be approached with the same knowledge and detail as driveways paving or sealcoating. Homeowners, condo owners, property owners and HOA organizations can save themselves the expense of errors by working with professional contractors that understands paving and the ADA accessibility guidelines.

By meeting the ADA width rules and additional requirements for safety, residential property owners or HOA’s can serve the API community to enjoy their properties. A well-designed ramp with consideration of parking and walkways creates an inviting environment and the ability to exceed compliance standards with assurance. These ramps not only address compliance standards they provide the community a commitment to inclusion and expectation for convenience; a safer and friendlier space for everyone.