• The ADA dramatically increased the mobility of handicapped people.handicap?? image by RomainQu??r?? from Fotolia.com
  
  The United States Access Board is a Federal agency, charged with overseeing accessible design for handicapped people and minimizing barriers in architecture. In 2004, it published guidelines incorporating standards from the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as well as the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA). These guidelines are to be phased in as new construction occurs. Elevators already in existence are not subject to these requirements.
  
  

Width

• When an elevator with centered doors opens, it must provide you with a clear entry way that is 42 inches wide. If the elevator doors are off-centered, the width can be reduced to 36 inches.
  
  

Automation

• Elevator doors must be horizontal, and they must slide open and closed automatically. They can never open vertically or require more than five pounds of pressure to operate. Manual gates on elevators are not permitted.
  
  If a person or an object obstructs the doors of an elevator, the doors should reopen instantly and automatically. This is triggered by sensors that must be located inside the door at five inches above the floor and again at a height of 29 inches. When the doors reopen, they must remain open for a minimum of 20 seconds.
  
  

Timing

• When an elevator car arrives, you must have adequate time to reach the elevator and enter the car before the doors close. For every one and one half feet you must travel from the farthest call button to the elevator entry, the doors should remain open for at least five seconds. For example, if the farthest call button is twenty feet away, the doors should remain open for 67 seconds ([20 feet/1.5] x 5 seconds). In any case, elevator doors should never close in less than three seconds.
  
  

Door Jam Markings

• The number of the floor where the elevator stops must be visible on both the left and right door jambs. The floor number must also be tactile and accompanied by its Braille symbol. If the floor where the elevator stops is the main entry, a tactile star, accompanied by its Braille symbol, must appear next to the floor number. If the elevator car is one in a bank of elevators, the car itself must be identified by a letter and accompanied by its Braille symbol. All characters must measure two inches high minimum.
  
  

Private Residence

• Elevators inside private residences may have doors that swing outward as opposed to automatically opening horizontally.