Is Your Detectable Warning Surface ADA Compliant?

With the myriad of choices available to contractors and municipalities for detectable warning products, the task of choosing one can be dizzying. Let’s examine one choice sometimes considered: stamped concrete. Stamping concrete to form truncated domes out of the cream of the concrete is a low-tech method, and can be completed without the purchase of additional materials. Is this detectable warning surface ADA compliant?? Absolutely not! The laws are clear that the detectable warning surface must provide contrast with the surrounding substrate, either dark-on-light or light-on-dark. The following photograph depicts an absolutely non-compliant curb ramp. Not only does it contain vast areas where domes are completely missing, but is non-compliant by virtue of its total lack of contrast compared to the surrounding substrate

The cream of the concrete, from which the domes are formed, contains no aggregate, and therefore no strength. Curb ramps are subject to all sorts of abuses from wheeled carts, pallet jacks, skateboards, luggage, police patrols on horseback, etc. Weak domes made of concrete are often no match for these types of loads. Additionally, quite often, domes are mal-formed or missing altogether immediately after the stamping.

With the photograph in mind, let’s consider the three methods by which a detectable warning surface can be sensed by the intended user, and how well this installation rates. Firstly, detectable warning surfaces can be felt under-foot if the domes are present, in consistent diameter and height, and if they are spaced at proper intervals. This installation has malformed domes, domes of improper sizes and missing domes, contributing to improper spacing. Consider this installation a total failure in terms of detectability under-foot.

Secondly, detectable warning surfaces can be seen if they offer contrast as dictated by the law and by common sense. Consider this installation a total failure in terms of visual cues.

Thirdly, detectable warning surfaces can be heard, when swept or tapped by a long cane. This concrete offers no amplification of the sound on cane contact, and therefore this installation is also a failure in terms of audio cues.

So, how well has this municipality done in terms of installing a detectable warning surface with ADA minimum guidelines in mind? How well is it serving the intended users? I would suggest that the municipality has completely failed in this feeble attempt at installing a detectable warning surface. It failed to meet even the minimum construction standards prescribed by federal and state legislation. And let’s keep in mind that the laws do not prescribe the standards by which curb ramps should be constructed. They only define the minimum construction criteria.

The few dollars saved by not procuring a high quality truncated dome detectable warning tile are no match for the huge liability incurred by municipalities which are installing non-compliant, dangerous and ineffective detectable warning devices. In order to make your detectable warning surface ADA compliant as well as functional and long-lasting, visit Armor-Tile at www.armor-tile.com for information on the finest products available.

By
Mark Heimlich

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