Fifty-six years after the enactment of the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968(ABA), the federal government continues to struggle to ensure that its facilities are accessible to and usable by people with disabilities. In fact, complaints filed over accessibility to these facilities rose by nearly 70 percent in fiscal year 2024, according to the U.S. Access Board.
The board is responsible for enforcing the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 by investigating complaints filed by the public. The ABA requires buildings or facilities designed, built, altered or leased by the federal government, as well as certain nongovernment buildings constructed with funds from a federal grant or loan, to be accessible to and usable by people with disabilities.
During 2024, the board received 341 new ABA complaints — a nearly 70 percent increase over last year — and closed 265, a nearly 60 percent increase. Eighty-five of the complaints were resolved after the board found that ABA-covered facilities did not meet accessibility standards and required federal agencies to complete mandatory corrective action to remove accessibility barriers.
Most corrective actions addressed issues affecting access to facilities for people with disabilities, such as the operation of power-assisted or manual doors, inaccessible entrances and insufficient or non-compliant accessible spaces in customer and employee parking lots. The corrective actions included these:
Defense-related and veterans facilities: The board resolved 17 ABA complaints relating to facilities of the U.S. Department of Defense or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, including at Hill Air Force Base in Utah for the installation of two entrance ramps, four power-assisted door openers, and a van accessible parking space at Building 590.
General Services Administration facilities: The board resolved seven ABA complaints relating to the facilities owned or leased by the General Services Administration, including at the federal building and United States courthouse in Sioux City, Iowa, for the installation of a compliant employee entrance — including an entrance ramp and a power-assisted entrance door — a van accessible parking space, and accessible single-user toilet room.
Other ABA-covered facilities: The board resolved two complaints relating to other ABA-covered facilities, including Building 2714, a U.S. Department of Energy facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, for the installation of accessible parking spaces and improvements to exterior accessible routes and ramps.
Dan Hounsell is senior editor for the facilities market. He has more than 30 years of experience writing about facilities maintenance, engineering and management.
