One ADA lawsuit costs more than ten years of parking lot care. Most property owners have no idea if their lot is compliant. We check it. We fix it. We write it down.
Or call (970) 205-9275 — Available Mon–Sat, 7am–7pm
If you own commercial property, you have ADA exposure. Most owners don't know this until they get sued.
Here's the situation in plain English. The Americans with Disabilities Act sets rules for parking lots. How many handicap spaces you need. What signs you need. What the spaces have to look like. What the access lanes have to look like.
If your lot doesn't meet the rules, anyone can file a lawsuit. They don't have to be hurt. They don't have to be a customer. They don't have to give you a chance to fix it. They can just file.
One law firm filed over 2,500 of these lawsuits last year alone. Most settle out of court for $5,000 to $20,000. Some go higher — federal fines can hit $75,000.
The hardest part: you can have a perfectly nice lot, well-maintained, no potholes, fresh stripes, and still get sued because your handicap signs are too short or your access aisle is too narrow. The rules are specific.
We've walked hundreds of lots. The same issues show up over and over.
1. Not enough handicap spaces. The rule is based on total parking spaces. We see this miss most often on older lots that haven't been re-striped in 10+ years.
2. Wrong signs or signs too low. ADA signs need to be a minimum height from the ground. Most parking signs are about 4 feet too low. Easy fix, but only if you know.
3. No van-accessible space. At least 1 out of every 6 handicap spaces has to be van-accessible. Most lots have zero.
4. Faded markings. Even if you have handicap spaces, faded paint can be called a violation.
5. Access aisle problems. The painted-out area next to each handicap space (the "access aisle") has specific width and stripe pattern requirements. Most lots are wrong.
6. Slope problems. Handicap spaces and access aisles can't be sloped more than a tiny amount. Pavement settles. Cracks open. Suddenly you're out of compliance and didn't even know.
7. Missing pavement symbols. That blue handicap symbol painted on the ground? It has to be there, has to be the right size, and has to be a specific shade of blue.
The point: even a well-cared-for lot can have ADA problems hiding in plain sight.
Federal rules tie ADA spaces to total parking. Here's the quick guide.
1–25 total spaces: 1 handicap space required (must be van-accessible). 26–50 spaces: 2 handicap. 51–75 spaces: 3 handicap. 76–100 spaces: 4 handicap. 101–150 spaces: 5 handicap. 151–200 spaces: 6 handicap. 201–300 spaces: 7 handicap (2 van-accessible). 301–400 spaces: 8 handicap. 401–500 spaces: 9 handicap. 501–1,000 spaces: 2% of total. 1,001+ spaces: 20 plus 1 for every 100 over 1,000.
Quick rule: 1 in 6 of your handicap spaces has to be van-accessible. If you have just one handicap space, it has to be van-accessible. Medical offices and rehab facilities have higher requirements.
We do a full walkthrough of your lot and check every ADA rule. Takes about an hour. Here's what's in it: space count check, van-accessible check, sign check (right height, right symbol, mounted right), pavement marking check (handicap symbol on each space, right size, right color), access aisle check (width and stripe pattern), slope measurement (handicap spaces and access aisles), curb cut check, and path of travel check.
Then we write it all down. You get a written report with photos. Every issue is flagged with what's wrong and what it would cost to fix.
Standalone ADA Compliance Audit (Spot Service): $1,500. Included free in Valley Shield Plan. Included free in Monument Plan. ADA fixes (striping, signs, markings): project-based, quoted after audit.
The audit pays for itself the first time it prevents a lawsuit. Most fixes are inexpensive. New signs run $150 to $500 each. Re-striping a handicap space runs $50 to $150. The expensive part is when you have slope problems that need patching or re-paving. We'll tell you which is which.
We're the only parking lot company in western Colorado that does this. Other companies will stripe a handicap space if you tell them to. They won't tell you whether your lot is compliant. They won't write you a report. They won't even know the current rules.
We write down what we find. You get a real document. Photos, measurements, findings, recommended fixes. You can hand this to your lawyer, your insurance company, or a buyer when you sell.
We update it every year if you're on a plan. Valley Shield and Monument plans include an annual ADA re-check. Pavement settles. Paint fades. Rules occasionally change. We keep your documentation current.
We can do the fixes too. Once the audit is done, we can re-stripe, install signs, fix markings, and re-measure slopes — all under one roof. You don't need to hire a separate striping company, a separate sign company, and a separate paving company.
No. Most owners do it because they don't want to get sued. The audit is also valuable when you're buying or selling property — buyers ask about ADA exposure, and a documented audit can move a sale forward.
Big changes are rare. Small updates and clarifications happen every few years. We check your lot against current rules every year if you're on a plan.
Not really. ADA rules apply to all public-facing commercial properties. There's some flexibility for older properties, but "grandfathered" is mostly a myth. If you make changes to your lot (like re-striping or re-paving), you usually trigger current rules.
We don't build new ramps or rebuild curbs in-house. We can identify problems and recommend a sub-contractor. For striping, signage, and pavement markings, we do all of that.
Yes. Property managers often think a lot is compliant when it isn't. We check the lot itself, not what someone tells us.
Yes. Colorado adds a few requirements on top of federal ADA. We check both.
Grab the free Playbook. It includes a section on ADA basics and a quick self-check for your lot. Then we'll come out, do a full audit, and write it down. If your lot is already compliant, you get peace of mind on paper. If it's not, you get a list of fixes — most of which are inexpensive — and a documented good-faith effort.
Or call (970) 205-9275 — Available Mon–Sat, 7am–7pm