Since passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, public parks and private recreation facilities have been required to make their grounds and programs as accessible as possible to people with disabilities. The ADA’s Title II and Title III requirements for state and local government entities and privately owned facilities for public use (respectively) have each required recreational facilities to be accessible.
Despite the language of the law, however, the original 1991 Americans With Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) for Buildings and Facilities-which defined the standards for accessibility that we see every day in public entrances, restrooms, parking lots and so on-did not include guidelines for most recreational entities. As an example, one might assume that if a municipality opened a pool or tennis court to the public, they should be accessible, based on the language found in Title II of the ADA. The problem for advocates over the past 14 years has been that, while we know that Title II says that programs and services offered by state and local government entities must be accessible-and surely new pools and tennis courts are covered by the law-how do we as advocates tell the municipality in question how to design an accessible pool or tennis court without standards or specifications?
The revised ADAAG, due this year, will assist advocates, designers, public and private entities, and, most importantly, people with disabilities, because a reference standard will be available to answer these questions. Remember, ADAAG contains the language that tells us how to make facilities accessible-such as technical requirements for the height of light switches, the maximum slope of a ramp, latch side clearance at accessible doors, and so forth. These guidelines will allow the 50 million Americans with disabilities to participate in a wide range of recreational opportunities.
Throughout the sections of ADAAG, there are many common requirements applicable to the needs of persons with disabilities. These include design elements such as
accessible routes, clear floor space, maneuvering space for a wheelchair and seat transfer heights. The revised ADAAG will amend many of these requirements based on a decade of experience. Additionally, some new features will be added, including requirements for certain recreational facilities.
The Adoption Process
The Recreation Guidelines were finalized on October 3, 2002, and should be utilized for recreation projects designed and constructed today. Despite the fact that they are not enforceable under the ADA until they are officially adopted as standards by the Department of Justice (DOJ), they will be adopted soon and serve as an important tool in improving access today. After adoption, these guidelines will be incorporated into an updated and comprehensive version of the accessibility guidelines of both the ADA and earlier guidelines developed for federal government entities under the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA). If you would like to monitor the enforcement dates, you can do so by visiting the U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (The Access Board) at www.access-board.gov.
Format of the Guidelines
The new guidelines for recreation facilities amend ADAAG’s existing Sections 3 and 4 and add a new special application section to Section 15. Section 3 provides new definitions of terms, which are specific to recreation facilities. Section 4 will amend the following areas of sport activity: animal containment areas for public use, areas of sport activity, dressing, fitting and locker rooms, saunas and steam rooms and benches.
Those portions of Section 15 that will be relevant to recreation include amusement rides, boating facilities, fishing piers, golf courses, miniature golf, sports facilities (exercise equipment, bowling lanes and shooting facilities) and swimming pools, wading pools and spas. It is important to remember that efforts have been made to provide designers, operators and people
with disabilities choices and flexibility. Toward that end, Section 15 contains information regarding how to provide an accessible route into pools and to boat slips, how to make a miniature golf course accessible, and how to provide access to exercise equipment at your local gym, among other things.
In many cases, these requirements include design options. A designer or operator of recreational facilities is required to comply with federal ADA Accessibility Guidelines and any state or local code requirements with respect to recreation, and, where different, utilize the one that provides a greater degree of accessibility.
These new guidelines apply to newly designed, newly constructed and altered recreation facilities. It is worth noting that routine maintenance and repairs are not considered alterations. Also, privately owned entities for public use are still subject to the Title III requirements for “readily achievable barrier removal” and the Title II requirement to provide “programmatic accessibility”
The amendments to Section 3 (Section 3.5) include 13 new definitions related to recreation. The exceptions to recreation requirements (Section 4) include raised structures solely for refereeing, judging or scoring a sport; water slides; animal containment areas not for public use; and raised boxing or wrestling rings.
The addition of the requirements for recreation facilities should allow people with disabilities to become more active and lead healthier lifestyles. Whether you are fishing, boating, golfing or visiting an amusement park, remember that the ADA governs access to these areas and there are technical requirements that dictate how to provide access for people with disabilities to (and within) these facilities. Should you have any questions about this information, or would like to receive a copy of the final rule for recreation facilities, please feel free to contact the Philadelphia Regional Office at 800-807-0190.
Jennifer L. DePaul is Senior Regional Advocate.
