What Small Business Owners Should Know to Be ADA-Compliant

Last updated 8 months ago

If you operate a business, you are required to comply with the accessibility standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA sets guidelines that ensure that disabled Americans can safely complete the everyday tasks they need to do. Everything from tactile warning systems to wheelchair ramps is covered in the ADA. If you’re a small business owner, here is what you need to know about meeting ADA standards:

Readily Achievable Barrier Removal
Many small businesses exist in facilities that were constructed before current ADA guidelines came into effect. Becoming fully accessible and meeting all of the ADA’s recommendations can be cost-prohibitive to many small businesses. Instead of holding small businesses to standards they can’t meet, the ADA requires that small businesses remove barriers that are “readily achievable.” That means that you are only required to remove barriers that can be easily removed at a cost that won’t be damaging to the business. Removing physical barriers that prevent those with disabilities from patronizing your business helps you grow your customer base as well.

Improved Parking
Parking is one of the easiest things for many small businesses to correct when it comes to ADA compliance. Parking spots that are too narrow for a wheelchair to maneuver in, or a lack of disabled parking, can keep customers out of your store. Work with your parking lot owner to repaint spots so that disabled customers have safe parking with a safe passageway to your business.

In-Location Tweaks
How could the interior of your business be made easier to navigate for people with disabilities? If you have a cash register, make sure the counter is low enough for people in wheelchairs to conduct transactions. Widen your checkout aisles to allow easier passage. In restaurants, provide wheelchair-friendly seating. Everything that you do to make your business easier to use for disabled customers is an investment in new clientele.

ADA compliance doesn’t have to be overwhelming for small businesses. At ADA Solutions, Inc., our detectable warning systems make coming in and out of your business and into your parking lot safer for your customers. The truncated domes on our warning strips let your vision-impaired customers know when they’re approaching a curb, step, or crosswalk. Call us at (800) 372-0519 to find out how we can help your small business reach ADA-compliant status.