ADAAG Update for 2009
Changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines
Program Background
Over the past 10 years, changing technologies, new advances in accessible design, and the need for consistent model building codes have led the United States Access Board to revise the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines.
The accessibility guidelines were first developed in 1991 and applied to the design and construction of buildings and facilities covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act. These guidelines are the most comprehensive set of accessibility guidelines in the world. In 2004, revisions to the guidelines were finalized.
The 2004 ADA/ABA Accessibility Guidelines is a combined effort to update guidelines previously issued under both the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA). The restructured guidelines under the ABA primarily address facilities in the Federal sector and others designed, built, altered, or leased with Federal funds. The guidelines under both laws are jointly being updated in one three-part rule.
This rule comprises a scoping document for ADA facilities, a scoping document for ABA facilities, and a common set of technical criteria that both scoping sections will reference. As a result, the requirements for ADA and ABA facilities will be made more consistent, establishing a uniform set of building guidelines.
The rule also includes new scoping and technical provisions for accessible housing that derive from requirements for “Type A” dwelling units contained in the 1998 edition of the ICC/ANSI A117.1 standard, “Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities.”
