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Registered Accessibility Specialist

Lesson 5: Ramps and parking

2012 Texas Accessibility Standards, Sections 208 and 502 · 14 practice questions

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Reading

Lesson 3 already covered a ramp's slope, rise, and handrail requirements as part of the accessible route. This lesson picks up parking, the other site element a RAS checks constantly, and revisits ramps only to connect them to the site-arrival sequence: from the parking space, to the accessible route, to the building entrance.

How many accessible spaces a lot needs

Section 208.2 sets the required number of accessible parking spaces as a table keyed to the total spaces in the parking facility. For 1 to 25 total spaces, 1 accessible space is required. The count then steps up: 26 to 50 requires 2, 51 to 75 requires 3, 76 to 100 requires 4, 101 to 150 requires 5, 151 to 200 requires 6, 201 to 300 requires 7, 301 to 400 requires 8, and 401 to 500 requires 9. From 501 to 1,000 total spaces, the requirement is 2 percent of the total. At 1,001 spaces and over, it is 20 spaces plus 1 for every additional 100 spaces or fraction of 100 over 1,000. Where a site has more than one parking facility, each facility's required count is calculated on its own total, not the combined total across the whole site.

Van-accessible spaces

Section 502.2 sets a standard accessible car space at 96 inches wide minimum, paired with an adjacent access aisle under Section 502.3. Section 502.3.1 sets the access aisle at 60 inches wide minimum, and Section 502.3.2 runs it the full length of the space it serves. A van-accessible space is wider, 132 inches minimum, though the standard allows an exception: a van space can instead be 96 inches wide if the access aisle is 96 inches wide minimum, effectively moving the extra width into the aisle instead of the space itself. Either way, the combined width of space plus aisle is the same, 192 inches (132 plus 60, or 96 plus 96); the standard just allows it to be split between the space and the aisle in two different ways.

The arrival sequence: parking to route to entrance

None of these numbers work in isolation. An accessible parking space has to connect to an accessible route, the 36-inch-wide path from lesson 3, without that route relying on a curb ramp that itself exceeds the 1:12 maximum slope from lesson 3's ramp requirements (Section 406.1 applies the Section 405.2 ramp slope to curb ramps, with the same exception for existing sites). A RAS reviewing a site plan is tracing a continuous path: van-accessible space, access aisle, curb ramp or level connection, accessible route, to the entrance door's clear width and maneuvering clearance from lesson 3. A single broken link anywhere in that sequence, a curb ramp too steep, a route segment narrower than 36 inches, an entrance door without clearance, makes the whole path noncompliant even if every individual element elsewhere on the site is correct.

Why this sequence thinking matters for a plan review

A common design error is treating parking, routes, and entrances as separate drawings reviewed by separate people, each individually compliant, without anyone checking that they actually connect as one path a wheelchair user could travel start to finish. A RAS plan review is partly about catching that specific kind of gap: each piece is correct on its own sheet, but the site as a whole does not deliver an unbroken accessible path from the parking space to the door.

Accessible parking count and the arrival sequence A table showing accessible space counts by lot size, and a sequence diagram from van-accessible parking space through access aisle, curb ramp, accessible route, to building entrance. Van space132 in., or 96 + 96 aisle Access aisleSection 502.3 Curb rampMax 1:12 slope Accessible route36 in. min width Entrance door32 in. clear width Table 208.2: 1-25 spaces → 1 accessible; 26-50 → 2; 51-75 → 3; van ratio 1 per 6 (208.2.4)
Accessible parking connects through an unbroken sequence of aisle, ramp, route, and entrance; one weak link fails the whole path.

Practice questions

1. A parking lot has 40 total spaces. How many accessible spaces does Table 208.2 require?

  1. 3
  2. 4
  3. 1
  4. 2

2. A lot has 600 total spaces. How is the required accessible space count calculated?

  1. 2 percent of the total spaces
  2. 20 spaces plus 1 per additional 100
  3. Still read directly from the table's fixed numbers
  4. Always exactly 9 spaces, the same as the 401-500 tier

3. A lot has 1,200 total spaces. How is the requirement calculated?

  1. 20 spaces plus 1 for each additional 100 spaces or fraction over 1,000
  2. 2 percent of 1,200, since the percentage applies to every lot above 500 spaces
  3. A fixed 9 spaces, the same as the 401 to 500 tier, with no further increase
  4. 1 accessible space for every 25 total spaces, without any upper limit

4. A site has two separate parking facilities. How is the accessible space count determined?

  1. The combined total across both facilities is used once
  2. Accessible spaces are optional if a site has more than one facility
  3. Each facility's requirement is calculated on its own total, not the combined site total
  4. Only the larger facility needs any accessible spaces

5. What is the van-accessible space ratio under Section 208.2.4?

  1. 1 van space for every 6 accessible spaces, or fraction of 6
  2. Van spaces are not required separately unless the lot has more than 100 spaces
  3. 1 van space for every 2 accessible spaces, or fraction of 2
  4. 1 van space for every 10 accessible spaces, or fraction of 10

6. Is the van ratio applied to the lot's total parking count or to the accessible space count?

  1. Neither; it is a fixed number regardless of lot size
  2. The number of employees at the facility
  3. The total parking count for the whole lot
  4. The accessible space count required from Table 208.2

7. What is the minimum width of a standard accessible car parking space?

  1. 84 inches
  2. 96 inches
  3. 132 inches
  4. 60 inches

8. What is the standard minimum width for a van-accessible parking space?

  1. 108 inches wide, with a 60-inch access aisle on either side
  2. 132 inches, or 96 inches with a 96-inch access aisle
  3. 96 inches, with a 60-inch access aisle in every case
  4. 60 inches

9. What does the 96-inch space plus 96-inch aisle exception actually change for a van user?

  1. Nothing functionally; it splits the same 192 inches between space and aisle differently
  2. It reduces the combined width available for lift or ramp deployment to 156 inches
  3. It eliminates the need for an access aisle when the van space is at least 96 inches wide
  4. It only applies to compact vans

10. What maximum slope must a curb ramp connecting a parking space to the accessible route meet in new construction?

  1. 1:20, the running slope limit for a walking surface
  2. Curb ramps have no slope limit if a landing is provided
  3. 1:8, the steepest slope allowed for any new curb ramp
  4. 1:12, the same ramp maximum from lesson 3

11. Why does a RAS trace the whole arrival sequence, parking through entrance, rather than checking each element separately?

  1. Because TAS only requires checking the entrance door
  2. Because a single broken link anywhere in the sequence, an overly steep curb ramp or a narrow route segment, makes the whole path noncompliant even if every other element is correct
  3. Because sequence checking is optional and not part of a plan review
  4. Because only the parking space itself matters for compliance

12. A common design error a RAS is trained to catch is:

  1. Making the accessible route wider than the 36-inch minimum so it exceeds the standard
  2. Installing additional grab bars beyond the minimum at every toilet compartment
  3. Individually compliant drawings that never connect into one unbroken accessible path
  4. Providing more van-accessible spaces than the ratio requires

13. A site with 90 total parking spaces provides 4 accessible spaces, none marked van-accessible. Is this compliant on the van requirement?

  1. Yes, van spaces are optional at the owner's discretion
  2. No, all 4 spaces must be van-accessible
  3. Yes, van spaces are only required above 100 total spaces
  4. No, 4 accessible spaces falls within the first 6, so at least 1 must be van-accessible

14. What is the minimum door clear width an accessible route must ultimately reach, connecting back to lesson 3?

  1. 28 inches
  2. 36 inches
  3. 32 inches, per Section 404.2.3
  4. Door width is not part of the arrival sequence

Glossary

Table 208.2
Sets required accessible parking space counts by total lot size, switching to 2 percent of the total from 501 to 1,000 spaces, then to 20 plus 1 per 100 over 1,000.
Van-accessible space
Required at a 1-per-6 ratio of accessible spaces (Section 208.2.4); wider, or paired with a wider access aisle (Section 502.2).
Access aisle
The clear space adjacent to an accessible parking space, 60 inches wide minimum (Section 502.3.1).
Arrival sequence
The unbroken accessible path from parking space through access aisle, curb ramp, accessible route, to the building entrance.
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