DJ 202-PL-126
                                           SEP 9 1992

John Tysse, Esq.
McGuiness & Williams
1015 Fifteenth Street, N.W.
Suite 1200
Washington, D.C. 20005
Dear Mr. Tysse:

        I am responding to your recent inquiry on behalf of your
client, the Schindler Elevator Corporation, and to the Schindler
Elevator Corporation's letters to this Department concerning the
requirements of title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act
of 1990 (ADA) governing the floor plan of accessible passenger
elevators.
        The ADA authorizes the Department to provide technical
assistance to individuals and entities that have rights or
responsibilities under the Act. This letter provides informal
guidance to assist you in understanding the ADA. However, this
technical assistance does not constitute a determination by the
Department of Justice of the rights or responsibilities of any
individual under the ADA, and it is not binding on the Department
of Justice.

        The ADA requirements for the design and construction of
accessible elevators are contained in section 4.10 of the ADA
Accessibility Guidelines, which are adopted as the ADA standard
by this Department's title III regulation. Section 4.10.9
provides that:

        The floor plan of elevator cars shall provide space for
        wheelchair users to enter the car, maneuver within
        reach of the controls, and exit from the car.
        Acceptable door opening and inside dimensions shall be
        as shown in Fig. 22 . . . .

cc: Records, Chrono, Wodatch, Blizard, Bowen, FOIA
    Udd:Blizard:ADA.Interpretation.Tysse

01-01487

                                - 2 -
        Figure 22 depicts the minimum dimensions of an elevator car
that will permit a person using a wheelchair to enter, turn to
reach the controls, and exit the car. The Schindler Elevator
Corporation has asked if an alternative elevator floor plan that
provides adequate space for a wheelchair user to enter an
elevator car and make a "U-turn" to reach the controls is an
acceptable alternative to the floor plans specified in Figure 22
or if Figure 22 must be followed exactly.

        To eliminate discrimination in the built environment, the
ADA required this Department to establish minimum standards for
the design and construction of new buildings and for alterations
to existing buildings. Compliance with these standards, or
building to specifications that provide greater accessibility
than these standards require, will constitute compliance with the
ADA's new construction and alteration requirements. However, the
standards do not constitute a strict formula for design, nor are
they intended to constrain design innovations that provide equal
or greater access.

        The Department recognizes that there may be other ways to
provide access to buildings and facilities. Thus while section
4.10.9 specifies the standards for a conventionally designed
passenger elevator, it does not establish the only acceptable
design for an accessible elevator car. Section 2.2 of the ADA
Accessibility Guidelines expressly provides that "[d]epartures
from particular technical and scoping requirements of this
guideline by the use of other designs and technologies are
permitted where the alternative designs and technologies used
will provide substantially equivalent or greater access to and
usability of the facility." In a specific application of that
principle, section 4.1.6(3)(c)(iii) provides that "equivalent
facilitation may be provided with an elevator car of different
dimensions when usability can be demonstrated and when all other
elements required to be accessible comply with the applicable
provisions of 4.10. . . ." In addition, the ADA Guidelines for
transportation facilities (49 C.F.R. pt. 37, App. A  10.3.2(17))
provide that elevator cars with a clear floor area in which a 60
inch diameter circle can be inscribed may be substituted for the
minimum car dimensions of section 4.10.

        Neither the Department of Justice nor the Architectural and
Transportation Barriers Compliance Board will certify any
specific variation from the standards as being "equivalent," but
proposed alternate designs, when supported by available data
(which may include advisory material from the Appendix to the
guidelines), are not prohibited. However, in any ADA enforcement
action, the covered entity would bear the burden of proving that
any alternative design does provide equivalent access.

01-01488
                                - 3 -
        I hope that this information is helpful to you.

                                        Sincerely,

                                        John L. Wodatch
                                           Director
                        Office on the Americans with Disabilities Act
01-01489