ADA Parking Compliance Audit in Canby, Oregon: What to Expect

Why Canby Property Owners Order an ADA Audit

Most ADA parking problems in Canby do not announce themselves. A lot that looked fine the day it was striped slowly drifts out of compliance as paint fades, signs get bumped by delivery trucks, and the asphalt settles a fraction of an inch each winter. By the time a complaint letter arrives, the gaps have usually been there for years.

An ADA parking compliance audit is the cheapest way to find those gaps before someone else does. Whether you manage a storefront along North Holly Street, a clinic near the Canby hospital corridor, or a church lot off Highway 99E, an audit gives you a written, prioritized list of what is out of compliance and what it will take to fix. This article walks through exactly what happens during one. For the broader rulebook behind every line item, start with our Oregon ADA parking compliance guide.

What an Audit Actually Measures

An ADA audit is not a glance from the curb. It is a measured inspection against the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design and Oregon's own requirements under ORS 447.233. A thorough walk covers six areas.

1. Accessible Space Count

The auditor counts every striped stall and checks the total against the federal ratio: one accessible space for every 25 total spaces, scaling up from there. A 40-space Canby lot needs two accessible stalls; a 120-space lot needs five. At least one in every six accessible spaces must be van-accessible, rounded up. Older Canby lots frequently come up one van stall short because they were laid out before the current ratio took hold.

2. Stall and Access Aisle Dimensions

Each accessible stall should measure at least 8 feet wide. The adjacent access aisle must be 5 feet wide for a standard car space and 8 feet wide for a van-accessible space. The auditor pulls a tape on both. Faded or undersized aisles are one of the most common findings, because aisle paint wears faster than stall lines under traffic.

3. Slope

Using a digital level, the auditor checks running and cross slope in the stall and aisle. The standard caps slope at 2 percent in all directions on accessible spaces and aisles. This is where settled or repaved lots fail most often. A spot that measured 1.8 percent when new can creep past 2 percent after a few freeze-thaw winters.

4. Signage

Every accessible stall needs a vertical sign with the International Symbol of Accessibility mounted at least 60 inches from the ground to the bottom of the sign. Van stalls need a "Van Accessible" plate. Oregon also requires a supplemental sign showing the fine amount for illegal parking. Signs that are too low, missing, faded, or bent get flagged.

5. Pavement Markings

The auditor inspects the painted symbol in each stall, the diagonal hatching in the access aisle, and any "NO PARKING" lettering. Markings worn below clear visibility are treated as a compliance gap, not just cosmetic wear.

6. The Accessible Route

Compliance does not stop at the stall. The auditor follows the path of travel from the accessible spaces to the building entrance, checking for curb ramps, detectable warnings, level changes over a quarter inch, and a continuous slip-resistant surface.

How a Canby Audit Plays Out On Site

A typical small-to-midsize Canby lot takes an hour or two to walk. The auditor photographs each finding, logs measurements, and marks locations on a site sketch. Clear, dry weather makes for the most accurate slope and surface readings, so most audits in the Willamette Valley get scheduled from late spring through early fall when Canby's wet season eases off.

The deliverable is a report that separates findings by severity. High-priority items are active barriers and trip hazards. Medium items are technical gaps like a sign mounted at 58 inches instead of 60. Low items are cosmetic fades that should be addressed at the next restripe. For a full breakdown of how a structured audit is organized, see our ADA compliance audit process overview, and compare your own lot against our 10 most common ADA parking violations.

What Findings Usually Cost to Fix in Canby

Most Canby audit findings fall into a handful of fixable buckets. Restriping faded symbols and aisles is the least expensive correction. Replacing or raising signage is a modest per-sign cost. Slope and surface corrections are the larger line items because they involve regrading or an asphalt patch rather than paint.

The reason an audit pays for itself is sequencing. Instead of repaving an entire lot to chase one non-compliant stall, the report tells you which corrections are paint, which are signage, and which genuinely need asphalt work. Many Canby owners pair the striping corrections with a scheduled restripe to spread mobilization costs. If your lot is already due for fresh lines, see local pricing and timing in our parking lot striping in Canby guide.

Should You Audit Before or After Repaving?

If a repave is already on your calendar, audit during the design stage, not after the lot is striped. A full repave is treated as an alteration under the ADA, which means the path of travel must be brought up to current standards to the maximum extent feasible. Catching count, slope, and route issues while the lot is being laid out is far cheaper than re-cutting fresh asphalt later. If your lot is only getting a sealcoat and restripe, that is generally maintenance, and the audit simply confirms you are not making anything less accessible than it already is.

General Guidance, Not a Survey

The figures and rules here reflect federal ADA standards and Oregon requirements as general guidance. Exact compliance for your specific Canby lot depends on its measured dimensions, slopes, and the buildings it serves. Treat this article as a starting checklist, and have a qualified contractor or accessibility professional perform a measured survey before committing to corrections.