Analysis of Handicapped Parking at Auburn University

The number of handicapped spaces that serve a facility is largely determined on the basis of Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) guidelines, which do not take into consideration the actual land use that a parking lot serves. The ADA guideline of basing the number of handicapped spaces on the size of the parking lot does not work well for land uses such as universities. The following study looks at the campus of Auburn University in order to develop a model that will base the number of handicapped spaces on the characteristics of the facility the parking lot serves. Models were developed with occupancy rates, turnover rates, and facility characteristics as variables. A model based on the peak period occupancy rates was used to determine the recommended number of handicapped parking spaces. Using the peak period occupancy rate generates the proper number of spaces required to accommodate the demand.