"(8) In new construction, at a minimum, the requirements in (a) and (b) below shall be satisfied independently:

(a)(i) At least 50% of all public entrances (excluding those in (b) below) must be accessible. At least one must be a ground floor entrance. Public entrances are any entrances that are not loading or service entrances.

(ii) Accessible entrances must be provided in a number at least equivalent to the number of exits required by the applicable building/fire codes. (This paragraph does not require an increase in the total number of entrances planned for a facility.)

(iii) An accessible entrance must be provided to each tenancy in a facility (for example, individual stores in a strip shopping center).

One entrance may be considered as meeting more than one of the requirements in (a). Where feasible, accessible entrances shall be the entrances used by the majority of people visiting or working in the building.

(b)(i) In addition, if direct access is provided for pedestrians from an enclosed parking garage to the building, at least one direct entrance from the garage to the building must be accessible.

(ii) If access is provided for pedestrians from a pedestrian tunnel or elevated walkway, one entrance to the building from each tunnel or walkway must be accessible.

One entrance may be considered as meeting more than one of the requirements in (b).

Because entrances also serve as emergency exits whose proximity to all parts of buildings and facilities is essential, it is preferable that all entrances be accessible.

(c) If the only entrance to a building, or tenancy in a facility, is a service entrance, that entrance shall be accessible.

(d) Entrances which are not accessible shall have directional signage complying with 4.30.1, 4.30.2, 4.30.3, and 4.30.5, which indicates the location of the nearest accessible entrance."

At least fifty percent (50%) of all public entrances must be accessible, and there must be a number of accessible entrances equivalent to the number of required exits. This section does not require the owner to provide more entrances than the owner desires, but rather requires the owner to use all entrances provided as a basis for determining the number of accessible entrances that must be provided. It is important to remember that section 4.1.3(8) pertains to determining the number of required accessible entrances, not accessible exits. This is often confused because section 4.1.3(8)(a)(ii) requires one to base the number of accessible entrances on the number of required fire exits. Determining the number accessible fire exits is covered in section 4.1.3(9). The following examples illustrate how sections 4.1.3(8)(a)(i) and 4.1.3(8)(a)(i) are applied.

Example 1 - If a building has four (4) exterior doors, two (2) of them required as exits by building codes, two (2) doors planned as entrances, and only one of the entrance doors planned as a public entrance, then two (2) accessible entrances are required. The fifty percent (50%) rule would require half of the public entrances to be accessible, which would be one (1) door, and the fire exit rule would require at least two (2) accessible entrances if two (2) entrances were planned.

Example 2 - If a building has four (4) exterior doors, three (3) of them required as exits by building codes, and only one (1) door is planned as an entrance (serving as both a public entrance and an employee entrance), then one (1) accessible entrance is required. The fifty percent (50%) rule would require half of the public entrances to be accessible, which after rounding-up would be one (1) door, and the fire exit rule would require at least three (3) accessible entrances only if three (3) entrances were planned. In this case only one (1) entrance is planned and therefore, only one (1) accessible entrance must be provided.

Example 3 - If a building has four (4) exterior doors, two (2) of them required as exits by building codes, and three (3) of the doors are planned as public entrances, then at least two (2) accessible entrances are required, because of the fifty percent (50%) rule and the fire exit rule.

Example 4 - If a building has eight (8) exterior doors, two (2) of them required as exits by building codes, and all eight (8) of the doors are planned as public entrances, then at least four (4) accessible entrances are required. The fifty percent (50%) rule would require half of the public entrances to be accessible, four (4) doors, and the fire exit rule would require at least two (2) accessible entrances.

Example 5 - As a final example, let's look at a warehouse facility with forty-four (44) exterior doors. Four (4) of the doors are designated as entrances - two (2) of the doors are public entrances and two (2) of the doors are employee entrances. Four (4) exits are required by building codes based on the number of the building’s occupants. Forty (40) additional doors are required as exits by building codes, because of the size of the building and the arrangement of the exits. These forty (40) doors are locked from the outside and utilize panic hardware on the inside for egress. They are not used by the general public, employees, or any outside service personnel for entering the building. The warehouse would have to have four (4) accessible entrances. Only two (2) of the total forty-four (44) doors are designated as public entrances, and the fifty percent (50%) rule would require one (1) accessible entrance. The fire exit rule would require four (4) accessible entrances, as there are four (4) total entrances. Obviously, it is my interpretation that the rule pertaining to exits applies to exits required by number of occupants, and not exits required by arrangement issues, such as travel distance. I no of no court room precedence for this interpretation.

Some of the most knowledgeable authorities on the ADAAG agree with the interpretations I have just given with the five examples above. However, I would be remiss if I did not state that there are some authorities on the ADAAG that do not agree with my interpretations illustrated here. Some in authority feel that any exterior door which is not associated with a loading dock, is an entrance subject to the requirements of section 4.1.3(8)(a)(ii).

"Public Use. Describes interior or exterior rooms or spaces that are made available to the general public. Public use may be provided at a building or facility that is privately or publicly owned."

Common use areas (defined in section 3.5 of the ADAAG) are those resident and employee only areas that are shared by dedicated groups, e.g., break rooms, copy rooms, conference rooms, locker areas, etc. Common use areas are also required to be fully accessible for individuals with disabilities.

"Common Use. Refers to those interior and exterior rooms, spaces, or elements that are made available for the use of a restricted group of people (for example, occupants of a homeless shelter, the occupants of an office building, or the guests of such occupants)."

Work areas are common use areas used by a specific individual or group of individuals that are not required to be fully accessible under the ADAAG. The ADAAG states in section 4.1.1:

"(3)* Areas Used Only by Employees as Work Areas. Areas that are used only as work areas shall be designed and constructed so that individuals with disabilities can approach, enter, and exit the areas. These guidelines do not require that any areas used only as work areas be constructed to permit maneuvering within the work area or be constructed or equipped (i.e., with racks or shelves) to be accessible."

A work area is required only to be located on an accessible route, and to be designed and constructed in a manner that will allow individuals with disabilities to enter and exit the space. This means, essentially, that a wheelchair can enter the door to the work area and have a thirty (30) inch by forty-eight (48) inch space just inside the door opening. There is no requirement for turn-around space, specific door hardware or latch side clearance on the work area side, etc. The emphasis of work areas is to provide spaces that individuals with disabilities can approach, enter and exit, and then to retrofit those spaces upon the hiring of individuals with a disability. Each work area is then retrofitted in a manner that will enable the individual to do his or her job under the rules of title I of the ADA. Work areas include areas such as a commercial kitchen or an individual's office, except that an office used by an individual to meet with the public would likely be a public use area. Exempt areas with no accessibility requirements are those areas exempted from compliance with the ADAAG by section 4.1.1(5)(b).

"(b) Accessibility is not required to (i) observation galleries used primarily for security purposes; or (ii) in non-occupiable spaces accessed only by ladders, catwalks, crawl spaces, very narrow passageways, or freight (non-passenger) elevators, and frequented only by service personnel for repair purposes; such spaces include, but are not limited to, elevator pits, elevator penthouses, piping or equipment catwalks."

One should be careful not to fall into the trap of declaring spaces such as mechanical rooms and electrical closets as exempt areas. These spaces are considered to be work areas although they may have an exempt component within them, such as a ladder for roof access. Mechanical rooms and electrical closets do have to meet the requirements for approach, enter and exit.

Often, work areas are located inside of other work areas. For example, the kitchen and storage areas of a typical fast food restaurant are work areas, however, an area where employee lockers and break room are located would be a common use area as would be the path to this area. An egress route for the kitchen employees to a rear exit would also be a common use area. These common use areas would require full accessibility in accordance with the ADAAG (e.g., proper width of path of travel, no objects that protrude excessively, etc.). A typical fast food restaurant kitchen and storage area includes many work areas inside of a larger work area: mechanical room, dry storage, etc. The obligation for approach, enter, and exit would apply only to the larger work area except where the common use path to the lockers or break room is contiguous to any work area entrances. The Americans with Disabilities Act Title III Technical Assistance Manual states in section III-7.3110 that:

"Note, however, that in many instances a raised platform is surrounded by another work area, such as a service counter. The work area accessibility requirement would be satisfied as long as that outer area could be approached, entered, and exited."

Though this comment is using a raised platform behind a counter as an example of a work area within a work area, I feel this example provides precedence for those restaurant kitchen and storage areas which contain smaller work areas. Indeed, I feel this example provides precedence for other situations where smaller work areas are located within larger work areas. I also feel that the common use employee egress path does not trigger an obligation to provide for approach, enter and exit at the individual work areas along this path. This path is different from the common use path servicing the lockers and break room area in that the egress path is arguably present in every work area containing smaller work areas. On the other hand, the path to the employee lockers or break room is a path that was required as a result of an intentional decision to locate the lockers and break room within the larger work area.

One should keep in mind that the principle of the work area limitation is not to reduce accessibility within a work area in order to give designers and builders some token areas where they need not worry about accessibility. Rather, the purpose of work areas is to provide increased accessibility by leaving the adaptation of such spaces for later dates when individuals with disabilities are hired, so that the individuals with disabilities can enjoy customized solutions to their accessibility needs. By tailoring the accessible adaptations to their personal needs under title I of the ADA as opposed to meeting the generic standards of the ADAAG, spaces can be altered to provide the ultimate accessibility solution for the users of such spaces.
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