36 CFR Parts 1190 and 1191 ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines - Preamble (Discussion of Comments and Changes)

227 Sales and Service

Section 227 covers access to check-out aisles (227.2), sales and service counters (227.3), food service lines (227.4), and queues and waiting lines (227.5). The general charging statement has been editorially revised to clearly indicate coverage of these various elements. The title of this section has been changed to "Sales and Service" instead of "Sales and Service Counters" since some of the provisions it contains apply to elements that may not have a counter, such as check-out aisles and waiting lines.

Requirements for check-out aisles have been revised to clarify access to check-out aisles serving different functions (227.2). In addition, the final rule restores an exception for smaller facilities that allows one check-out aisle to be accessible (227.2, Exception). Signage requirements for accessible check-out aisles have been modified and relocated to section 216.11, as discussed above.

Generally, check-out aisles are required to be accessible according to a scoping table in 227.2. In the proposed rule, this table specified access according to the number of check-out aisles provided for "each function." However, the corresponding scoping provision did not fully correlate with the table because it specified that "at least one" accessible check-out aisle be provided for each function. In the final rule, this provision has been revised to be consistent with the scoping of the table.

Comment. The original ADAAG provided an exception for facilities with less than 5,000 square feet of selling space which allowed only one check-out aisle to be accessible regardless of the number or different types of aisles provided. This exception has been provided to limit the impact of accessible check-out aisles on smaller facilities. The Board had removed this exception in the proposed rule because it reasoned that most facilities that would qualify for it would likely have only one check-out aisle or use sales counters instead of check-out aisles. Commenters disagreed, indicating that such facilities may have multiple check-out aisles. Thus, the exception should be restored.

Response. The exception has been included in the final rule (227.2, Exception).