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

Why Jacksonville Owners Audit Their Lots

An ADA parking audit is a measured walkthrough that compares every accessible feature of your lot to current standards and returns a prioritized fix list. In Jacksonville, where many commercial lots are old, small, and squeezed into a National Historic Landmark downtown, accessible elements are easy to overlook and old layouts often never met current standards. An audit surfaces those gaps before a customer complaint, an insurer's inspection, or a demand letter forces the issue.

The ADA is enforced largely through private action — any member of the public can flag a barrier — so a faded symbol on a California Street lot or a sign mounted too low is enough to draw scrutiny, and a town full of summer visitors means plenty of eyes. This guide explains what a Jacksonville audit covers and how to prepare. For the rules behind the checks, see our ADA parking compliance guide for Oregon.

What the Auditor Checks

The audit follows a consistent sequence. Our ADA compliance audit process page lays out the full methodology; here is what to expect on a Jacksonville lot.

Stall Count and Van Ratio

The auditor counts total spaces and checks the accessible count against the 2010 ADA Standards: 1 stall for 1 to 25 spaces, 2 for 26 to 50, 3 for 51 to 75, 4 for 76 to 100, plus one per additional 50. At least one in six accessible stalls must be van-accessible. On tight downtown lots, undersupply and a missing van-accessible stall are common findings.

Dimensions and Slope

Each stall is measured for width (8 feet minimum) and its aisle (5 feet standard, 8 feet for van). The auditor verifies the stall and aisle stay within 2 percent slope using a level. Jacksonville's foothill terrain means many older lots were built on a grade, so slope non-compliance is a high-yield check here.

Access Aisle Markings

The aisle is inspected for diagonal hatching, NO PARKING text, and a clear connection to a continuous accessible route to the entrance. On compact lots, a missing or undersized aisle is a frequent flag.

Signage

Each accessible stall needs the accessibility-symbol sign mounted at least 60 inches from ground to bottom of sign, a "Van Accessible" plate where applicable, and Oregon's supplemental fine-amount sign. The auditor checks mounting height and plumb, and notes any conflict with historic-district placement.

Surface Condition

Cracks over half an inch, potholes, ponding water, and crumbling pavement in the stall, aisle, or route are flagged. The surface must stay firm, stable, and slip-resistant. The Rogue Valley's freeze-thaw winters and hot, dry summers crack and degrade older asphalt, so this section often produces findings.

What You Get

A solid audit ends with a written report: a stall-by-stall inventory, photos of each deficiency, the standard each item cites, and a prioritized fix list separating quick wins (repaint a symbol, raise a sign) from larger work (regrade a stall over 2 percent slope, or restripe a too-tight layout). Our common ADA parking violations checklist shows the issues that appear most often.

Preparing for Your Jacksonville Audit

Do a quick self-check first. Walk the lot for faded symbols, low or leaning signs, aisles with no visible hatching, and standing water in accessible areas after a rain. Photograph what you find. Even an informal pass tells you whether you face a simple restripe or a layout-and-grading project — common on tight historic lots. For local striping context, see our parking lot striping in Jacksonville guide.

From Findings to Fixes

The value of an audit is the action it drives. On Jacksonville's older, tighter lots, findings sort into a few categories, and knowing which one each item belongs to makes budgeting and sequencing clearer.

Quick paint fixes. A faded International Symbol, a worn aisle hatch, or a missing NO PARKING marking is corrected with a restripe. On aging downtown asphalt, a sealcoat before the repaint gives the markings a darker, longer-lasting backdrop.

Layout corrections. On tight historic lots, the most common finding is a stall or aisle that is simply too small. Fixing it means re-laying the layout — often shifting to two accessible stalls sharing one aisle to fit the van-accessible requirement into limited space.

Signage corrections. A sign mounted below 60 inches, a missing "Van Accessible" plate, or an absent Oregon fine-amount sign is cheap to resolve, though placement may need to respect historic-district guidelines.

Slope and grading. A stall or aisle over 2 percent slope is the most involved fix, requiring regrading and repaving. Jacksonville's foothill terrain makes this a frequent finding, and a professional survey matters most here because the work is structural.

Sorting the punch list by cost and complexity lets you close cheap items immediately while planning layout or grading work — often best folded into a future repave.