Thrare › Parking lot striping and ADA
Anyone can re-trace the lines that are already there. If those lines were wrong, you have now paid to make the same mistake more visible.
The problem
A lot gets re-striped by tracing what has faded. If the accessible stalls were undersized, the access aisle was shared incorrectly, or the route to the entrance was never compliant, tracing preserves all of it.
Accessible parking is the part of a lot most likely to be wrong and most expensive to be wrong about. Stall and aisle dimensions, the number of accessible spaces for the total count, van accessible provision, signage height and the accessible route from the stall to the entrance are all separate requirements, and a lot can satisfy four of them and fail the fifth.
We measure the lot before we quote the paint. If the existing layout is compliant we re-stripe it as it stands. If it is not, you get told what is wrong and what it takes to correct it, before the paint goes down rather than after somebody complains.
The work
A striping scope is usually larger than the stalls. The markings that carry the most liability are the ones that are not parking spaces.
Stall layout, drive lanes, directional arrows and full lot re-marking, set out and measured rather than traced.
Accessible stall count, dimensions, van accessible provision, aisle placement and the marked accessible route.
Curb marking, fire lane text and restricted zones, coordinated with what your local fire marshal expects.
Pedestrian crossings, stop bars, loading and reserved stall text, numbering and speed markings.
How it runs
Paint bonds to a clean surface and to nothing else. Most premature striping failure is a surface failure, not a paint failure.
Straight answers
We can, and we will say so if the existing layout is compliant. If it is not, tracing it is the one thing we will not quietly do for you.
It depends on the total stall count, with van accessible provision on top of that. We check it against your actual count on the walk rather than estimating from the lot size.
Yes, and it is the single biggest factor in how long the striping lasts. We run the wash and the stripe as one mobilization so you are not paying twice to get on site.
It depends on the product and the weather on the day. We sequence and barricade so a lot comes back in sections rather than staying closed until the whole thing has cured.
The counts
These numbers are fixed, they are checkable, and getting them wrong is the most expensive mistake available on a striping job.
Section 208.2 of the ADA Standards for Accessible Design sets the minimum by the total number of spaces in the facility:
1 to 25 spaces: 1 accessible space, and that one must be van accessible.
26 to 50 spaces: 2 accessible spaces.
501 to 1000 spaces: 2 percent of the total.
1001 and over: 20, plus 1 for each 100 or fraction over 1000.
Two rules sit on top of the count. At least 1 of every 6 accessible spaces, or fraction of 6, must be sized for a van. And every accessible space needs an access aisle at least 60 inches wide and at least as long as the space itself. The aisle is not optional paint, it is the part that makes the space usable, and it is the thing most often lost when a lot is restriped by someone counting stalls rather than reading the standard.
These are federal minimums. A local code, a state amendment or a tenant standard can require more and never fewer, so where your drawing is stricter, the drawing governs. If a lot is being restriped to the layout that is already on the ground, and that layout was short, restriping it faithfully reproduces the violation in fresh paint.
Sequence
A restripe over a wrong layout costs more than the original striping, because now there are two sets of lines to deal with.
The order of work is measure, mark, verify, then paint. On a lot that is being restriped to its existing pattern this looks like wasted effort right up until the measurement shows the aisle is 48 inches instead of 60, or that the count was fine at 24 spaces and is short now that the lot was extended to 30.
Where the layout is changing, the set-out is checked against the drawing before the first line is painted, and any conflict is raised then. Paint is difficult to argue with once it is down: removing it means grinding, shot blasting or resurfacing, all of which leave a visible ghost and cost more than the striping did.
Old layout removal is its own scope, and it is priced separately for a reason. A lot that is being reconfigured rather than refreshed needs the previous lines taken off, not just covered. Painting over an old layout in a contrasting color leaves both patterns visible under wet conditions and low sun, and drivers follow whichever one they can see.
Scope
Named scopes, so the package can be priced against your own estimate rather than against a description.
Standard stalls, compact designations where the layout uses them, and double-line or hairpin patterns where the property prefers them. Line width and spacing follow the existing pattern unless the layout is changing.
Set out, verified, then painted
Accessible stalls to the required count, access aisles at the required width, van-accessible sizing at the one-in-six ratio, and the symbol and signage that go with them. Signage height and mounting are part of the scope, not a separate trade.
Counted against 208.2
Arrows, stop bars, crosswalks, fire lane marking, loading zones and no-parking hatching. These are the markings that get skipped on a cheap restripe and then get cited.
Including fire lane marking
Curb painting for fire lanes and no-parking, bollard refresh, and wheel stop marking. Small scope, disproportionate effect on how maintained a property reads from the entrance.
High visibility per dollar
Price
Striping is priced per stall or per lot, and either way the variance between quotes is usually surface preparation.
In the number: set-out and verification, layout marking, paint and application, masking where it is needed, traffic control within the work zone, and cleanup of our own area. Cleaning of the surface immediately before painting is included, because paint applied over loose dust and grit fails early regardless of how good the paint was.
Not in the number: removal of an old layout being replaced, sealcoating or crack filling, pavement repair, and closure management beyond our own work zone if the property needs a full traffic plan. Where wash-down before striping produces runoff, containment applies for the same reason it does on any other exterior work: wash water is a non-stormwater discharge and does not enter a storm drain without authorization.
Paint over a failing surface fails with the surface. If the asphalt underneath is delaminating, striping it is money spent on a schedule that is already set by the pavement. We would rather tell you that at the walk and quote the striping for after the repair.
Questions
The questions that come up between the walk and the award.
By section 208.2 of the ADA Standards: 1 to 25 total spaces requires 1 accessible space and it must be van accessible; 26 to 50 requires 2; 501 to 1000 requires 2 percent of the total; and above 1000 it is 20 plus 1 for each 100 or fraction over 1000. At least 1 of every 6 accessible spaces must be van sized. Those are federal minimums and a local code can require more.
At least 60 inches wide, and at least as long as the parking space it serves. The aisle is what makes the space usable rather than decorative, and it is the element most often lost when a lot is restriped by matching the existing lines instead of measuring them.
Yes, and on an occupied property that is the normal approach. The lot is taken in sections against posted notice with vehicles relocated a section at a time, and each section is handed back before the next one starts. Paint cure time is the constraint, not the painting, so the sequence is planned around when each area can accept traffic again.
It depends on whether the layout is changing. A refresh of the same pattern goes over the existing lines. A reconfiguration needs the old layout removed, because two visible patterns under wet conditions or low sun means drivers follow whichever one they can see. Removal is a separate scope and it is priced separately.
It depends on the product and the weather, and the honest answer at quote is a range rather than a number. Humidity and surface temperature move cure time more than anything we control, which is why the sequence is planned so a section handed back is genuinely ready rather than nominally ready.
Measure first, then decide. If the count or the aisle width is short, the fix is a layout correction rather than a refresh, which means removal of the affected lines rather than painting over them. Reproducing an existing non-compliant layout in fresh paint is the most common way a property pays twice.
Sources
Every count above is quoted from the standard, so you can verify it rather than take our word for it.
Accessible parking counts, van ratio and access aisle width: United States Access Board, ADA Standards for Accessible Design, chapter 5, Parking Spaces, section 208.2 of the 2010 Standards. Read 2026-08-31.
Wash water discharge where pre-strip cleaning produces runoff: United States Environmental Protection Agency, NPDES Stormwater Program, and 40 CFR Part 122.26. Read 2026-08-31.
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