Official website of the
City of Vancouver, Washington

ADA Program

It is the goal of the City of Vancouver to make every reasonable effort to provide equal access to all City-sponsored services, programs, and activities for citizens and employees with disabilities. Equal employment opportunity will be provided for all qualified individuals with a disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The City will make reasonable modifications in policies, practices, and procedures to ensure equal access and will operate it's programs so that, when viewed as a whole, those programs are reasonably accessible to, and usable by, individuals with disabilities.

The City of Vancouver ADA Program is a part of the City Manager's Office. The program is made up of four main elements:

Disabled Parking Enforcement

The Disabled Parking Enforcement Program uses volunteers to enforce disabled parking laws. The program works closely with the Vancouver Police Department.

Click here to apply to be one of our volunteers!

ADA Street Transition Plan

The ADA Program works closely with other city departments to survey our streets and sidewalks for compliance with the ADA. The goal is to complete major intersections first, then secondary streets.

City Facilities Transition Plan

According to the ADA, a public entity must develop a transition plan setting forth the steps necessary to complete changes to make their programs and facilities accessible. The transition plan should:

• Identify physical obstacles in the public entity's facility that limit the accessibility of its program or activities to individual with disabilities.
• Describe in detail the methods that will be used to make the facilities accessible.
• Specify the schedule for taking the steps necessary to achieve compliance.
• Indicate the official responsible for implementation.

Click here to see a copy of the City of Vancouver's Transition Plan.

Business Compliance Program

If the City of Vancouver receives a complaint about a business who may be in violation of the ADA, ADA Program representatives work with that business to help achieve compliance. Disabled Parking Enforcement volunteers also make note of businesses with potential ADA issues while they are out on their rounds. The goal of this program is cooperation and compliance, not rigid enforcement. So far, we are pleased to report that all businesses we have contacted have cooperated with us 100%!

For more information about this and other ADA Program issues, please contact Bob Bess at (360) 735-8777 or email him at bob.bess@ci.vancouver.wa.us.