March 15th, 2012 is Compliance Deadline for 2010 ADA Standards

As of March 15, 2012, entities covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act must fully comply with the 2010 Standards for Accessible Design. The revised rules, which were formally adopted on March 15, 2011 with a year-long grace period set to expire this month, apply to the activities of more than 80,000 units of state and local government and more than seven million places of public accommodation, including offices, retail stores, restaurants, recreational facilities and entertainment venues.
“The new rules usher in a new day for the more than 50 million individuals with disabilities in this country,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in a 2011 Department of Justice press release. “The rules will expand accessibility in a number of areas and, for the first time, provide detailed guidance on how to make recreation facilities, including parks and swimming pools, accessible.”
The newest set of guidelines represents an expansion and clarification of many facets of the ADA design guidelines, including those that cover transportation centers, streets and sidewalks, parks, and recreation facilities. FitzGerald has experience evaluating existing facilities and reviewing plans with a step-by-step evaluation process to ensure compliance under the newest guidelines. For more information, contact Mike De Rouin at (312) 563-9100 x213.