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

Why Medford Property Owners Order an ADA Parking Audit

Medford anchors the Rogue Valley and serves as the Jackson County seat, so its parking lots carry the traffic of all of Southern Oregon — the retail along Crater Lake Highway and Biddle Road, the regional medical campuses near Barnett Road, and the stores around the Rogue Valley Mall downtown. High-visibility, high-turnover lots are exactly the ones that draw accessibility complaints, and Oregon makes such complaints cheap and easy to file.

An ADA parking compliance audit is a structured, measured review of your lot against the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design and Oregon's accessible-parking law, ORS 447.233. It tells you where your lot falls short before a demand letter or a repaving permit forces the issue — and in the Rogue Valley, with its punishing summer UV, faded markings are one of the most common findings. This guide explains what a Medford audit covers, how it runs, and what to do with the report. The statewide rules behind every finding are laid out in our ADA parking compliance guide for Oregon.

What a Medford ADA Audit Measures

A real audit touches every element the federal standards and ORS 447.233 regulate. Here is the checklist an inspector runs in a Jackson County lot.

Space Counts and Van Ratio

The auditor counts total stalls and checks the accessible count against the federal table — one accessible space per 25 stalls, two for 26 to 50, three for 51 to 75, and up. At least one in six accessible spaces (rounded up) must be van-accessible. Medford's medical lots carry heavier ratios: 10 percent of stalls accessible for outpatient clinics, 20 percent for rehabilitation facilities — a frequent shortfall in the Barnett Road medical corridor.

Stall and Aisle Dimensions

Accessible stalls must be at least 8 feet wide. Standard stalls pair with a 5-foot access aisle; van stalls need an 8-foot aisle (or the 11-foot-stall alternative). The auditor measures widths, confirms diagonal hatching and the NO PARKING legend in each aisle, and checks that two stalls aren't sharing one undersized aisle.

Slope

Accessible stalls and aisles cannot exceed 2 percent slope in any direction. The Rogue Valley's gently sloping terrain means older Medford lots often drift past tolerance as the base settles over years of seasonal movement. The inspector reads slope with a digital level at multiple points — a visual estimate does not survive scrutiny.

Signage

Each 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 add a "Van Accessible" plate, and Oregon requires a supplemental sign stating the fine for unauthorized parking — a requirement national chains operating in Medford frequently miss.

Accessible Route and Surface

The path from the accessible stalls to the entrance must be continuous, slip-resistant, and free of abrupt level changes greater than a quarter inch. Cracks over half an inch, potholes, and standing water along the route are flagged.

How the Audit Process Runs in Medford

A typical engagement runs in four stages; our detailed walkthrough of how an ADA compliance audit works covers each, and here is the Medford version.

1. Scheduling and intake. You share the lot location and any original striping plans. Medford's long dry season makes accurate slope and drainage reads easy to schedule.
2. On-site measurement. The inspector spends one to three hours measuring counts, widths, aisle markings, sign heights, and slopes, photographing every deficiency. Faded markings get special attention here given the Rogue Valley sun.
3. The findings report. You receive a written report listing each deficiency, the governing standard, a priority, and a recommended fix — with low-cost "readily achievable" items separated from larger work like regrading a stall.
4. Remediation plan. The report becomes a punch list. Most Medford lots need restriping and signage corrections; slope or surface failures may need targeted asphalt repair.

To pre-screen your own lot, run it against our common ADA parking violations checklist before the auditor arrives.

What Medford Audits Tend to Find

Across the Rogue Valley, a few findings repeat. Faded accessible symbols and aisle hatching lead the list — Medford's hot, high-UV summers wear blue traffic paint faster than anywhere else in the region, and a symbol you can barely read counts as missing. Signs mounted below 60 inches or missing the Oregon fine plate come next, followed by undersized access aisles, short van counts, and slope creep in older lots. None are exotic, and most are correctable in a single restriping and signage visit.

The takeaway is to audit early and act. A demand letter or a repaving permit that triggers the alterations rule turns a few hundred dollars of restriping into a much bigger project on someone else's clock.

From Audit to Compliant Lot

Once you have the findings, the fix is usually striping and signage work, sometimes with minor surface repair. Cojo Excavation & Asphalt handles ADA restriping, symbol stenciling, sign installation, and the asphalt repairs that bring slopes and surfaces back into tolerance for Medford and Jackson County owners. For general line work, see our parking lot striping in Medford page and our professional striping services.

The figures here are general guidance under the 2010 ADA Standards and ORS 447.233; only a site-specific survey confirms what your lot needs. Request a free quote and we will assess your Medford lot and map the path to compliance.