Parking Lot Mistakes That Quietly Put Your Property At Risk
Ask most facility leaders if they care about accessibility, and the answer is an immediate yes. Ask when they last walked their parking lot specifically to check for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the answer is usually less clear. The Department of Justice receives thousands of ADA-related accessibility complaints each year, and many start right outside the front door. The gap between intention and attention is where legal and financial risk quietly builds. The parking lot is often treated as “just asphalt,” something fixed when there is a pothole or a resurfacing project, when it is the actual front door to the property. Neglecting maintenance and updates to this part of the facility can pose major accessibility risks.
Common ADA Mistakes In Parking Lots
The most common ADA mistakes property managers make that cause the most trouble are rarely complex. There are clear, specific requirements for parking lot compliance, and errors often arise from simple, everyday conditions that make spaces difficult or nearly impossible to use. Some of the most common mistakes we see include:
- Accessible stalls that have effectively narrowed over time, because faded lines were restriped without accurate dimensions, or traffic has worn away contrast.
- Access aisles that are missing, undersized, or casually used for overflow parking.
- Faded symbols and hatch lines may look like a cosmetic issue, but if you have to squint to see them, a guest using a wheelchair or lift has been struggling for months.
- Signs that are too low, too high, hidden behind landscaping, or blocked when an SUV parks in front of them are, functionally, the same as having no signage at all.
Older layouts are a quieter source of risk. A lot that looked fine and may have been compliant a decade ago may no longer meet today’s expectations for stall counts, access aisle widths, and accessible routes to the entrance. Yet when owners resurface, the instinct is to paint exactly what was there before rather than ask whether the number, type, and placement of accessible spaces are still appropriate. On paper, these may seem like minor oversights, but in practice, they are the very issues that lead to complaints, demand letters, and forced corrective work, often under tight timelines and high costs, with outside parties dictating the schedule.
How Weather & Wear Impact Compliance
Climate makes all of this more complicated. In northern markets, freeze–thaw cycles, snowplows, and de-icing salt are brutal on paint. Lines are scraped, scuffed, and buried for months at a time. In hotter regions, UV and heat break down paint differently. Markings that looked crisp last spring can be dull and low-contrast by peak season. From a compliance standpoint, markings and signs must be clearly visible and usable year-round.
If accessible stalls are easy to see in June but nearly invisible in February, you are effectively cycling in and out of compliance with the seasons. That is why experts avoid a one-size-fits-all approach and utilize more durable systems and reflective additives in high-risk ADA areas, where weather and traffic are particularly challenging.
Budget For Year-Round Accessibility
The solution is not a massive new budget; it is a predictable and proactive one. Facility managers can treat ADA as an annual maintenance category rather than a one-time capital project. Once a year, ideally in the spring, assign a walk-through specifically for ADA compliance and review the following:
- Check that stalls and access aisles are clearly marked.
- Ensure proper stall counts and a mix of accessible spaces.
- Vet that the signs are visible at the proper height once vehicles are parked.
- Make sure there is a clear, direct, and smooth path from every stall to the entrance.
That annual review should feed a small but intentional line in a maintenance budget. The entire lot does not need fresh paint every year, but ADA stalls, access aisles, crosswalks, and pedestrian routes should be kept to a higher standard. Refreshing them while they are still mostly visible is cheaper and safer than waiting until they disappear and cause an issue. The same applies to signage and minor pavement repairs. Replacing damaged or non-compliant signs and fixing ponding water, heaved slabs, or rough transitions along accessible routes costs far less than doing the same work under legal or regulatory pressure.
The ROI Of Proactive Maintenance
EverLine teams are often called in after a notice arrives that a layout no longer meets current requirements. In those cases, our team works with your redesigned layout to ensure the parking lot meets all local compliance. When we move quickly, owners often avoid fines and more serious action. By that point, legal counsel is frequently already involved, the clock is ticking, and every decision is rushed. The total cost is almost always higher than a proactive audit would have identified and prescribed the correct maintenance a year or two earlier.
From my perspective, the business case is straightforward: proactive striping and signage updates reduce the risk of enforcement or litigation, help avoid rushed rework pricing, and protect your customers from harm. A relatively small, planned line item in the maintenance budget can save thousands in penalties, legal fees, and operational disruption. Just as important, it sends a clear message to your staff and visitors that accessibility is built into the property and maintained intentionally, not something you address only when a letter arrives.
A parking lot is not “just asphalt.” It is the first and last impression many people have of your facility and a daily test of your accessibility commitments. Treating ADA compliance as a recurring, budgeted part of pavement maintenance is one of the simplest ways to protect your guests, your reputation, and your bottom line.
By John Evans
John Evans is the Founder and CEO of EverLine Coatings and Services, North America’s fastest-growing line striping and pavement maintenance service business that partners with property and facility managers to keep their lots safe, accessible, and well-presented across diverse climates and portfolios