ADA Vendor Requirements Required by City/County Planning Departments

[Uncle Sam]

We are receiving calls from operators planning a new wash or rehabbing an older one asking about meeting the ADA regulations for vending machine installations. Operators need to understand and be educated about the ADA requirements so you can talk intelligently to City/County planning personnel who are requiring that vendors at a wash meet these regulations.

The vendor regulations require the following:
1. The maximum height from the ground to the coin slot (primary payment method) or the selection buttons on the vendor is 54-inches for a side reach situation, i.e. the wheel chair/scooter is parallel to the front of the vendor for the occupant to reach to his/her side.
2. The minimum height from the ground to the bottom of the access door must be 16-inches for a side reach.
3. When more than one payment method is available, i.e. coins, bills and/or credit card, all methods of payment should be below 54-inches.

The free standing ShurVend Hi-Security vendors/security enclosures are already ADA compliant with the placement of the selection buttons, bill validator, and coin slot in the machine. Even those free standing vendors that are recessed into a wall with a security door comply with the ADA regulations.

A caveat needs to be inserted here: If an operator wants to have all three payment methods (bill, coin, and credit card) in any of the free standing vendors, then we will have to install a bill validator/credit reader Combo to comply with the ADA requirements. Mars and Coinco have these Combos available.

Cont'd

 

[Uncle Sam]

The small, 18-selection vendors that are installed into the equipment room wall or into an enclosed kiosk (with front access) are the ones whose installation needs to planned very carefully. The geometry of the coin slot, bill validator slot, and selection buttons in these vendors is fixed and can not be moved. Therefore the installation height of the bottom of these small vendors has to be adjusted to comply with the ADA 54-inch maximum height. ShurVend wants to assist you in complying with ADA, so we redesigned our small 18-selection vendor to be more compact. This new design enables these vendors to be installed 24-27-inches above grade and meet the ADA requirements for all 3 payment methods (bill, coin, and credit card) without using the Combo units. It will be available sometime in November, 2008.

You may ask why self serve car washes have to comply with the ADA height requirements since you very seldom see disabled people using a wand or vacuuming their own car. When it comes to city/county planning departments making or enforcing any requirements, practicality or logic is not part of their thinking. It is what the ?book? says or what they think the ?book? says that counts.

Uncle Sam

 

[chadrpalmer]

Your whole post was ruined for me by your last statement, sir. My wife is disabled, in a wheelchair, and can and has washed her own car...how often she does does not matter, she aught to be able to reach all the buttons...How the hell you can imply that it is dumb or illogical to make sure that that is possible is beyond me. A bit of grace for you is allowed, I will assume your ignorance of the topic, and not any ill will, I did not always think these things thru, either, until I met my wife...As an additional vent, for all you people who park in front of curb cut, remember, that means someone in a wheelchair cant get onto the sidewalk...think about it.

 

[pitzerwm]

As a side note, I had never parked in a handicap parking spot, but didn't really think about disabled people problems until I sold my laundries to a couple where the woman was in a wheelchair. We started socializing and I quickly understood the headaches being in a wheelchair is. I am now a real zealot about the parking spots and call the cops and insist that they write the ticket.

Since Jim's wife, Helen had a stroke and was/is using a wheelchair, I'm sure that he was being logical, rather than insensitive. He is an engineer, you know.

 

[Uncle Sam]

Chad,

Bill said it all about my wife and my attempt at educating operators.

Uncle Sam

 

[chadrpalmer]

Thanks for clearing that up fellas...I too became militant about parking spots, etc..after meeting my wife, its challenging enough to be in a wheelchair without a bunch of lazy SOBs making it harder. Once in a while I get in her chair for a few hours and chase the baby around just to remind myself how good God has been to me.

 

[PaulLovesJamie]

Chad, I think your intentions are good and correct, but yeah, you definitely jumped on the wrong guy this time.

Jim, you do an unusually good job at sharing info (such as this post). Please keep it up, it's one of the things that distinguishes your company.