JOE ZESSKI: Hello. Welcome to Ask About the ADA, the podcast where we answer your questions about the Americans with Disabilities Act and how it applies to everyday life. These are from questions that we have received here at the Northeast ADA Center. And hopefully by sharing them and the answers to them, we'll help me better understand your rights or responsibilities as someone touched by the ADA.
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On this week's episode, we're going to tackle two parking-related questions. These are questions addressed to the Northeast ADA Center, where people have a little bit of confusion about what the Americans with Disabilities Act requires, versus sometimes what are state or local laws. So that being said, let's jump right into things.
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If a business charges to park in its parking lot, does someone who uses a disabled parking placard or have disabled plates have to pay? For this question, you have to keep in mind what the basic idea is for the Americans with Disabilities Act is. And of course, at heart, the ADA is about equal access and equal opportunity for people with disabilities. It's not a law that sets up any new privileges or special advantages for someone with a disability. It requires that people have the same chance to access the programs, goods, services, and privileges of businesses, as well as state or local governments.
With that in mind, let's think about this situation-- the business is covered by Title III of the ADA as a public accommodation. So with that being considered, we know that a person with a disability needs to have the same or equal access to the goods, services, or privileges provided by the business.
When you think about that in terms of paying for parking, a business cannot charge a person with a disability more than they would charge someone without a disability. However, there's nothing to say that a business can't charge a person with a disability to park. Of course, the key is that people without disabilities must also pay for parking.
So if payment is applied equally, then there's no issue in terms of the ADA. Someone with a disability using a disabled placard on their vehicle or who has disabled needs and wants to use an accessible parking space-- that person can be charged, just as someone without a disability using a traditional parking space would be charged. Now again, they can't be charged more. The person with a disability cannot be made to pay more than someone without a disability. But as long as things are applied equally, it meets what the ADA requires.
Of course, there's nothing to say that a business, if they choose, can't waive a fee for accessible parking. However, there's no requirement under the Americans with Disabilities Act for businesses not to charge someone for parking, as long as they charge the appropriate amount. Beyond this, keep in mind that accessible parking lots must have the correct number of accessible parking spaces. You can find the requirements for that under the ADA in the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design.
These standards, among many other things, lay out the requirements for the number of accessible parking spaces in a parking facility, as well as the type of Van-accessible, versus one with a smaller parking aisle. One last thing to keep in mind too, is that state or municipalities sometimes institute laws where they will waive the fee for someone to use an accessible parking space.
If that's the case, again, that's under local law. That's not under the ADA. The Americans with Disabilities Act says nothing about waiving parking fees for a person with a disability. However, if a municipality chooses to do so, they certainly can.
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Now, let's look at our second question. And again, it gets to the idea of applying equality under the law. And here's the question-- can an accessible parking space have a time restriction on it? In other words, if someone parks in an accessible parking spot, is it permissible for that person to be required to move within a certain period of time?
And again here, we get back to the issue that we were just talking about in the earlier question. The ADA it's about equality of opportunity and access. It doesn't set up special privileges. So if all the other parking in that parking facility are time-restricted, then under the ADA, it would be permissible to restrict the amount of time someone can park in an accessible parking spot.
Some states and municipalities have enacted regulations that require accessible parking spaces not to be restricted by time. However, as a general rule of thumb, there's nothing in the ADA that says you can't restrict the amount of time, as long as that principle applies to all the parking in that same parking facility.
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Well, that's it for this week's episode of Ask About the ADA. If you have any other questions about accessible parking or anything else under the law please feel free to reach out to us here at the Northeast ADA Center. You can find us on the web at NortheastADA.org. You can call us if you're in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, or the US Virgin Islands at 1-800-949-4232. If you're out of that area code, then you'll reach your local ADA center. And again, feel free to drop us an email or to contact us on social media.
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As always, I'd like to thank Grace Fairchild for producing and editing the podcast. Thank you as well, to Peter Quinn for his assistance with doing final edits. Thank you Peter from our YTI media team. And thank you all for listening and joining us and being part of this conversation.
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