Accessible Parking Spaces at Strip Centers: What Florida Law Says About Blue Paint, Striping and Signs

Florida law says the blue outline on an accessible parking space must be repainted when necessary so the space stays clearly distinguishable. On a busy retail lot, oil, tire marks and mildew can hide paint that is still there. Here is what the statute and the federal standards say, with links, and why cleaning comes before restriping.

We are a pressure washing company, not lawyers. This is a plain-English summary of public documents, with links. Ask your attorney, engineer or the local building department how they apply to your property.

What Florida law says the space must look like

Florida Statute 553.5041 covers parking spaces for people who have disabilities. Subsection 6 is the part about paint and signs^[1]. Each space must be:

• Striped like the other spaces, “in a manner that is consistent with the standards of the controlling jurisdiction for other spaces”^[1].
• Outlined in blue. The space must be “prominently outlined with blue paint, and must be repainted when necessary, to be clearly distinguishable as a parking space designated for persons who have disabilities”^[1].
• Signed. The space must be posted with a permanent above-grade sign of a color and design approved by the Florida Department of Transportation, placed “at least 60 inches above the finished floor or ground surface measured to the bottom of the sign”, bearing the international symbol of accessibility and the caption “PARKING BY DISABLED PERMIT ONLY.”^[1] A sign put up after October 1, 1996 must also show the penalty for illegal use of the space^[1].

The key words for anyone who maintains a parking lot are “repainted when necessary” and “clearly distinguishable.” The statute does not set a schedule. It sets a result: a driver has to be able to tell which spaces are reserved.

The access aisle: the diagonal stripes

Under the same statute, each accessible space must be at least 12 feet wide, and the access aisle next to it must be at least 5 feet wide and part of an accessible route to the building entrance^[1]. The aisle “must be striped diagonally to designate it as a no-parking zone”^[1]. Parking in the aisle is not allowed, even for a vehicle with a disabled parking permit, because the space is for deploying a wheelchair, lift or ramp^[1].

The federal 2010 ADA Standards say access aisles “shall be marked so as to discourage parking in them”, and leave the method and color of the marking to state or local rules^[2]. Florida’s answer is the diagonal striping. When those stripes disappear under grime, the aisle starts to look like an empty space, and that is the problem the marking rule exists to prevent.

Shopping centers have a rule of their own

Where there are multiple entrances or multiple retail stores, Florida law says the accessible spaces “must be dispersed to provide parking at the nearest accessible entrance”^[1]. On a row of storefronts, that usually means accessible spaces in front of several storefronts rather than one cluster at the end of the building. The spaces must also sit on an accessible route at least 44 inches wide, so people are not forced to walk or wheel behind parked cars other than their own^[1].

In practice, the accessible spaces are spread along the busiest part of the lot, in front of the doors, where cars idle, turn and park all day. That is where tire marks and oil collect fastest.

The surface itself

The federal standards say parking spaces and the access aisles serving them must meet the floor and ground surface rules^[2], which require surfaces that are “stable, firm, and slip resistant”^[2]. The aisle must be at the same level as the space, with slopes no steeper than 1:48 allowed^[2]. The Department of Justice regulation adds the ongoing duty: a public accommodation must keep required accessible features “in operable working condition”, with isolated or temporary interruptions for maintenance or repairs allowed^[3].

We are not saying a dirty parking space is a violation. That is a question for a lawyer. We are saying the rules expect the space to stay visible and usable, and the same slick film that builds up on storefront walkways builds up on the aisle a wheelchair user crosses. Our guide to strip center walkways and slip hazards covers that side of it.

Why cleaning comes before restriping

Blue paint that looks faded is not always faded. Oil drips, tire marks, dirt and mildew sit on top of the paint and dull it. Before anyone decides the spaces need repainting, it is worth seeing what the paint looks like clean. Sometimes the outline comes back clearly distinguishable. Sometimes cleaning shows that the paint really is worn through, and then you know the restriping is necessary rather than guessing.

Before

After

Left: before. Right: after. The top deck of a parking garage at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in downtown Sarasota that we cleaned. It is not a retail lot; it is shown because the painted lines stand out clearly once the grime is gone. The after photo was taken from a different spot on the deck.

What a property owner can do

• Walk the lot and look at it like a driver. Can you tell each accessible space and its striped aisle apart from the regular spaces from the drive lane?
• Check the signs. Each space needs its own sign, with the bottom at least 60 inches above the ground, the accessibility symbol, the “PARKING BY DISABLED PERMIT ONLY” caption and, on signs put up after October 1, 1996, the penalty.
• Clean first, then judge the paint. Decide on repainting after the blue outline and the diagonal aisle stripes have been cleaned, not before.
• Keep a dated record of when the lot was cleaned and when the markings were repainted. Ask your attorney or insurer what records they want.
• Keep the wash water out of the storm drains. See our wash water guide for what Sarasota and Manatee County rules say.

Accessible spaces, drive lanes and curbs are part of our parking lot pressure washing in Sarasota, and the storefront side of the lot is the core of our strip center pressure washing. Both are part of our commercial pressure washing in Sarasota. Our guide to strip center exterior codes covers what Bradenton and Manatee County codes say about parking lots.

Sources

1. Florida Statutes s. 553.5041, Parking spaces for persons who have disabilities
2. U.S. Department of Justice: 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design (Secs. 302 and 502)
3. 28 CFR 36.211, Maintenance of accessible features (Cornell LII)