Why is the ADA Important

ADA Build-it-Right
Why is the ADA Important?

Why should I care about the ADA?

The Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 was a declaration that those of us with disabilities should have the same access to goods and services that temporarily able-bodied people do. It is a civil rights issue and that is why some of us think that 12 years has been long enough to make a difference. Unfortunately the ADA scoping and specifications are complicated and there are still major misinterpretations of the specifications.

Approximately 10% of the population in the US has some kind of disability. This 10% is expected to rise to 15% in the next 10 years. Even this 15% does not include the senior citizens with mild mobility problems like Arthritis or Osteoperosis. Would you deliberately exclude approximately 20% of your customers by not taking the ADA seriously? There are even more people who are temporarily disabled some time in their lives. So it is just plain good business to provide access to all.

Errors and omissions of access in new construction should not be happening, it is drastically cheaper to include access in the design and construction of new facilities. Rework and remodeling later to provide compromise access is can be exceedingly more expensive than doing it right in the first place.

What can you do for access in requests for proposals (RFPs)?

Specify that the project is to meet ANSI A117.1 (2003) standards for new construction or meet the state and local building codes which ever are more strict. Because of political lobbying and variations in state and local building codes it is important to also reference ANSI A117.1 (2003) standards.