Why aren’t automatic handicap accessible entrance doors required at all businesses?

Are those blue buttons that have a handicap sign on them required? Those buttons are usually connected to heavy commercial doors – and prompt them to open when pressed.

News10NBC recently looked into them, and a question posed by readers about it.

Why aren’t they required?

Many believe that restaurants and medical facilities, for example, should be required to have them. So that those spaces remain accessible to folks with disabilities.

The answer starts with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which governs most of the things commercial enterprises are required to do, or not, in order to create that accessibility.

Existing regulations require that 60% of public entrances in newly built facilities be accessible to folks in wheelchairs or those with mobility impairments. The automatic door buttons are not required.

Advocates say it would be a great help if they were required. While local governments could go forward with their own regulations – many are hesitant because of the cost to small businesses.

Staff Report

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