Describe the lot and get a dimensioned parking plan — stalls, drive aisles, accessible spaces with their access aisles, the accessible route and the signage. Export PDF for the packet, DXF or DWG for the engineer. The ADA blocks are free whether or not you draw anything else.
Also called a parking site plan, parking lot plan, striping plan or ADA parking plan.
You state the space count, the lot size and where the entrance is. The engine lays out the stalls and the accessible route, and you adjust anything by hand afterwards.
Say how many spaces, the lot dimensions and where the entrance is. "A 40-space lot, 120 ft by 180 ft, two van-accessible spaces near the north entrance." Metric or imperial.
Stalls at the dimensions you state, access aisles, the accessible route, signage locations and the striping. Everything lands as real CAD geometry on its own layers, not as a picture.
Drop PARKING-ADA, PARKING-STALL, ADA-SIGN, RAMP and VEHICLE-STALL from the 472-block library. Every block is a free DXF download whether or not you draw anything else here.
PDF to attach to an application, or DXF/DWG so the civil engineer, surveyor or striping contractor can keep working in AutoCAD.
The federal minimum from the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, §208.2. Your jurisdiction can require more — and several do.
| Total spaces in the lot | Minimum accessible spaces |
|---|---|
| 1 to 25 | 1 |
| 26 to 50 | 2 |
| 51 to 75 | 3 |
| 76 to 100 | 4 |
| 101 to 150 | 5 |
| 151 to 200 | 6 |
| 201 to 300 | 7 |
| 301 to 400 | 8 |
| 401 to 500 | 9 |
| 501 to 1000 | 2% of total |
| 1,001 and over | 20, plus 1 per 100 over 1,000 |
At least one in every six accessible spaces must be van-accessible, rounded up (§208.2.4). Access aisles are a minimum of 5 ft (§502.3). This table is published reference information, not a compliance determination for your site.
Stalls, drive aisles, ADA spaces with their access aisles, the accessible route, signage positions, wheel stops and striping — as editable CAD entities on named layers, dimensioned to whatever you specified.
How many accessible spaces your lot legally requires, whether your slopes comply, or whether your jurisdiction adds requirements on top of the federal minimum. Those are code determinations and this is a drawing tool. The table below is reference, not a ruling.
The 2010 ADA Standards are a floor, not a ceiling. Many states and cities require more accessible spaces, larger aisles or specific sign heights. Colorado, Texas and California all layer their own requirements on top. Check with the authority reviewing your submittal before you stripe anything.
For a permit submittal the drawing usually needs a licensed civil engineer, architect or surveyor depending on the jurisdiction. Bring this as the layout you want rather than as the stamped sheet — it is a far cheaper conversation than starting from nothing.
A scaled drawing of a parking area showing the stalls, drive aisles, accessible spaces and access aisles, the accessible route to the building entrance, signage and the painted striping. Depending on who is asking it may be called a parking site plan, a parking lot plan, a striping plan or an ADA parking plan — in Colorado it is usually just "a parking plan". It is what a planning department, a landlord or a striping contractor wants before work starts.
Mostly yes, and the name depends on who is asking. In Colorado it is usually just a "parking plan". A "parking lot plan" or "parking lot layout" is the same drawing, named for the thing it shows. A "parking site plan" or "site plan" is often WIDER -- it includes the building footprint, property lines, setbacks, landscaping and drainage, with the parking as one part of it. A "striping plan" or "pavement marking plan" is the contractor-facing version showing the paint: stall lines, arrows, crosswalks and legends. An "ADA parking plan" or "accessible parking plan" is the same drawing reviewed specifically for accessibility. Ask your reviewer which scope they mean before you draw -- a planning department asking for a site plan usually wants more than the parking.
Under the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design (§208.2) the federal minimum runs from 1 accessible space for a lot of 1 to 25 spaces, to 2 for 26 to 50, 3 for 51 to 75, 4 for 76 to 100, and so on — the full table is on this page. Lots over 1,000 spaces use 20 plus 1 per 100 over 1,000. Important: that is the FLOOR. Your state, county or city can require more, and some use categories (medical, rehabilitation, residential) have their own higher ratios. Confirm with the authority reviewing your plan; this page is reference, not a compliance determination.
At least one in every six accessible spaces must be van-accessible, rounded up (2010 ADA Standards §208.2.4). So a lot with 1 to 6 accessible spaces needs 1 van space; 7 to 12 needs 2. A van space is either 11 ft wide with a 5 ft access aisle, or 8 ft wide with an 8 ft access aisle — both arrangements are permitted.
There is no single federal number for a standard stall — it is set by local zoning, and 9 ft by 18 ft is the most common in the United States, with 8.5 by 18 and 9 by 20 also widely used. What IS federally specified is the accessible stall: a car space at least 8 ft wide, a van space at 11 ft (or 8 ft with a wider aisle), each with an access aisle at least 5 ft wide. Check your municipal code for the standard stall dimension before drawing.
At least 5 ft (2010 ADA Standards §502.3), and 8 ft for the wider van arrangement. It must be the full length of the space it serves, marked to discourage parking in it, and level — a maximum 1:48 slope in all directions. Two accessible spaces may share one access aisle.
It gives you a real, dimensioned, editable drawing — which is what most submittals are built from — but it is not a stamped document. Most jurisdictions require the sheet to be sealed by a licensed civil engineer, architect or surveyor, and none of them accept a drawing on the strength of the software that produced it. Export DXF or DWG and hand it to the professional doing the submittal.
Yes, and free. PARKING-ADA, PARKING-STALL, ADA-SIGN, RAMP, VEHICLE-STALL and the rest of the accessibility set are in the 472-block library, each a DXF download with no subscription and no account required for the download. Drop them into whatever CAD you already run.
Yes, and it is the part most often missed. Accessible spaces must connect to the entrance by an accessible route that does not require travelling behind parked cars (2010 ADA Standards §502.3). Reviewers look for that route explicitly, so draw it — the engine will place it if you say where the entrance is.
PDF for the application packet, DXF or DWG for whoever continues the work. DWG is written at r2000, which every version of AutoCAD opens. Entities arrive on named layers with real dimensions, so a civil engineer can take it straight into their sheet set.
Free to start: the full editor, all 472 blocks and 50 free AI credits (two AI drawings), no card. The block downloads are free with no limit. AI drafting is metered in credits; drawing by hand, editing and exporting are not.
