This document contains scoping and technical requirements for accessibility to sites, facilities, buildings, and elements by individuals with disabilities. The requirements are to be applied during the design, construction, additions to, and alteration of sites, facilities, buildings, and elements to the extent required by regulations issued by Federal agencies under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).
This new design document is the culmination of a comprehensive, decade-long review and update of the Board’s ADA Accessibility Guidelines, which were first published in 1991. Revisions have been made so that the guidelines continue to meet the needs opeople with disabilities and keep pace with technological innovations. For example, new provisions for ATMs specify audible output so that people with vision impairmentare provided equal access, and reach ranges have been lowered to better serve peoplewho use wheelchairs and persons of short stature. The guidelines also feature a new format and organization and have been extensively edited for greater clarity.
As part of this update, the Board has made its guidelines more consistent with model building codes, such as the International Building Code (IBC), and industry standards.It coordinated extensively with model code groups and standard-setting bodies throughout the process so that differences could be reconciled. As a result, a hilevel of harmonization has been achieved which has brought about improvements to thguidelines as well as to counterpart provisions in the IBC and key industry standards, including those for accessible facilities issued through the American National StandardInstitute (ANSI). The Board believes that this achievement will greatly facilitate compliance.
