Photo Credit: © CHERYLCASEY / BIGSTOCKPHOTO.COM
Making commercial swimming pools more accessible to the public achieves a two-fold purpose: complying with the new standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and accommodating a more diverse clientele.
“Providing a greater level of accessibility … is just good business,” says Bill Botten, an accessibility specialist with the U.S. Access Board in Washington, D.C. “Unfortunately, some recreational facilities are struggling to understand the new ADA requirements.”
The revised ADA Standards for Accessible Design--adopted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in September 2010--require commercial pools to have at least one primary means of access, which could be either a pool lift or a sloped entry. The law, which went into effect on March 15, 2011, applies to both public and private facilities, including: