How can contractors ensure their landscape designs comply with ADA requirements?

Ensuring that landscape designs comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements is primarily focused on accessibility. Designing accessible features means creating pathways that are wide enough for wheelchairs, incorporating ramps, ensuring that surfaces are stable and firm, and providing appropriate signage. These elements help people with disabilities navigate the landscape effectively, which aligns with ADA compliance.

While planting native species can benefit the environment and reduce maintenance, it is not a requirement for ADA compliance. Minimizing the use of hard materials can enhance aesthetics and eco-friendliness, but it does not directly address accessibility standards outlined in ADA guidelines. Avoiding slopes in design is also not practical in all cases; rather, if slopes are present, they must follow specific ADA guidelines related to gradients and handrails to be considered accessible.

Thus, emphasizing the design of accessible features is the key to ensuring compliance with ADA requirements in landscape projects.