Why Cottage Grove Businesses Order an Audit
Small-town lots are not exempt from the ADA, and a single non-compliant accessible stall in a Cottage Grove storefront or motel lot is enough to draw a complaint. The trouble is that compliance erodes quietly. Paint fades, signs drift out of position, and asphalt settles a fraction of an inch each winter until a lot that passed years ago no longer does. The only way to know is to measure.
An ADA parking compliance audit is the most cost-effective way to find those gaps before someone else does, and Cottage Grove's I-5 frontage lodging and dining serve travelers who rely on accessible parking they have never seen before. The audit produces a written, measured, prioritized list of what is out of compliance on your Lane County lot and what each fix involves. This article walks through what to expect. For the requirements behind every check, start with our Oregon ADA parking compliance guide.
What the Auditor Measures
A real audit is a measured inspection against the 2010 ADA Standards and Oregon's ORS 447.233.
Accessible Count
Total stalls and accessible stalls are counted against the one-per-25 ratio, with at least one van stall per six accessible spaces. The auditor confirms a single-accessible-stall lot has that stall as van-accessible, a frequent miss in small Cottage Grove lots.
Stall and Aisle Dimensions
A tape confirms each accessible stall is at least 8 feet wide, with a 5-foot aisle for car stalls and an 8-foot aisle for van stalls.
Slope
A digital level checks slope against the 2 percent cap. Settlement over time can push an originally compliant slope past the limit, especially near drainage features and older patches.
Signage
Each stall is checked for a sign with the International Symbol of Accessibility mounted at least 60 inches to the bottom, a "Van Accessible" plate on van stalls, and Oregon's required fine-amount plate.
Pavement Markings
The painted symbol, aisle hatching, and NO PARKING lettering are checked for visibility. Faded accessible markings count as a compliance gap.
The Accessible Route
From stalls to door, the auditor follows the path of travel checking curb ramps, detectable warnings, level changes over a quarter inch, cracks, and surface condition.
On-Site in Cottage Grove
A typical Cottage Grove lot is small to midsize and takes one to two hours to walk and measure. Larger highway-frontage lots take longer. The auditor photographs each finding, records measurements, and marks them on a site sketch. Dry, clear weather gives the most accurate slope and surface readings, so most audits are scheduled from late spring through early fall as the wet season eases.
The report sorts findings by severity: active barriers and trip hazards first, technical gaps like a sign two inches too low next, and cosmetic fades last. For how a structured inspection is organized, see our ADA compliance audit process, and compare your lot against our 10 most common ADA parking violations.
Turning Findings Into a Plan
Most Cottage Grove findings sort into three buckets. Restriping faded symbols and aisles is cheapest. Signage replacement or raising is a modest per-sign cost. Slope and surface corrections are the larger items, needing regrading or patching rather than paint.
The audit's value is sequencing. Instead of repaving the whole lot to chase one non-compliant stall, the report shows which fixes are paint, which are signage, and which truly need asphalt. Many Cottage Grove owners bundle the striping corrections into a planned restripe to share cost. If your lot is due for fresh lines, see local pricing in our parking lot striping in Cottage Grove guide.
Audit Before You Repave
If a repave is coming, audit during design. A full repave is an alteration under the ADA, triggering the duty to bring the path of travel up to standards to the maximum extent feasible. Catching count, slope, and route issues while the asphalt is open is far cheaper than re-cutting later. A sealcoat-and-restripe is maintenance, and the audit simply confirms you are not reducing accessibility.
The standards cited here are general guidance based on the 2010 ADA Standards and ORS 447.233. Exact compliance for your Cottage Grove lot depends on its measured conditions, so have a qualified contractor or accessibility professional perform a survey before committing to corrections.