OFFICE OP THE ATTORNEY GENERilL STIITE OF TEXIIS 

JOHN CORNYN 

July 14, 1999 

The Honorable Florence Shapiro 

Chair, Committee on State Affairs 

Texas State Senate 

P.O. Box 12068 

Austin. Texas 78711 

Opinion K-0077 

Re: Whether a van-access aisle adjacent to a vanaccessible parking space is an “architectural 

improvement designed to aid persons with 

disabilities” for purposes of section 68 1 .Ol l(c) of, 

the Transportation Code (RQ-1228) 

Dear Senator Shapiro: 

Under section 681 .Ol l(c) of the Transportation Code, a person who parks a vehicle so as to 

obstruct “an architectural improvement designed to aid persons with disabilities” commits a 

misdemeanor. See also TEX. TRANSP. CODE ANN. 4 681.01 l(g)-(k) (Vernon 1999) (prescribing 

penalties). You ask whether a van-access aisle adjacent to a van-accessible parking space is an 

“architectural improvement designed to aid persons with disabilities” in the context of section 

681.01 l(c). We believe it is. 

UndertheAmericanswithDisabilitiesAct,42U.S.C. $5 12101-12205 (1995 &Supp. 1999) 

the United States Department of Justice has promulgated minimum standards, designed to improve 

access for the disabled, for new or altered public parking lots. Among other things, the Department 

of Justice requires that one in every eight accessible parking spaces be served by a van-access aisle: 

“One in every eight accessible spaces, but not less than one, shall be served by an access aisle 96 

[inches] . . wide minimum and shall be designated ‘van accessible. . .“’ 28 C.F.R. pt. 36, app. A 

5 4.1.2(5)(b) (1998); see also id. $ 4.6.4 (providing for signage). The Texas Department of 

Licensing and Regulation has adopted substantially identical requirements in accordance with the 

Texas Architectural Barriers Act, TEX. REV. CIV. STAT. ANN. art. 9102 (Vernon Supp. 1998). See 

TEX. DEP’T OF LICENSING & REGULATION, TEXAS ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS 5 4.1.2(5)(a), (b) 

(1994). 

Section 681 ,011 ofthe Texas Transportation Code establishes several offenses related to the 

unauthorized use or misuse of disabled parking spaces or privileges. For example, under section 

681.01 l(a), a person who parks a vehicle with specially designed, disabled license plates or a 

disabled parking placard in a designated disabled parking space commits an offense if the driver is 

not disabled or is not transporting a disabled person. A person without disabled license plates or a 

disabled parking placard on his or her vehicle commits an offense under section 681.01 l(b) if the 

person parks in a designated disabled parking space. Under section 68 1 .Ol l(d), a person commits 
The Honorable Florence Shapiro - Page 2 (X-0077) 

an offense if he or she lends a disabled parking placard to another person who uses the placard in 

contravention of section 681 ,011. And, under section 681 .Ol l(c), a person commits an offense if 

the person “parks a vehicle so that the vehicle blocks an architectural improvement designed to aid 

persons with disabilities, including an access or curb ramp.” 

You ask whether a van-access aisle adjacent to a van-accessible parking space qualities as 

an “architectural improvement designed to aid persons with disabilities” for purposes of section 

681 .Ol l(c) of the Transportation Code. We find no statutory definition or judicial construction of 

the phrase “architectural improvement designed to aid persons with disabilities.” Because section 

681.01 l(c) is a statute that creates a criminal offense for parking in a way that obstructs an 

“architectural improvement designed to aid persons with disabilities,” however, the phrase must be 

strictly construed. A statute imposing a criminal penalty must be construed narrowly to, in part, 

fairly notify persons subject to the statute so that they may act as the statute requires and avoid the 

criminal penalty. See Agey Y. American Liberty Pipe Line Co., 172 S.W.2d 972,974 (Tex. 1943); 

State v. International G.N. Ry. Co., 179 S.W. 867,868 (Tex. 1915); Howell Y. Mauzy, 899 S.W.2d 

690,704 (Tex. App.-Austin 1994, writ denied). 

Moreover, the statute tells us that an architectural improvement designed to aid persons with 

disabilities includes items like access ramps and curb ramps. TEX. TRANSP. CODE ANN. 5 68 1 .Ol l(c) 

(Vernon 1999). The term “including” is a term of enlargement, not a term denoting exclusivity. 

TEX. GOV’T CODE ANN. 5 3 11.005(13) (Vernon 1998). To determine whether a van-access aisle 

should be “included” within the set of architectural improvements designed to aid persons with 

disabilities, we consider whether a van-access aisle bears significant similarities to an access ramp 

or a curb ramp. We believe it does. 

Both an access ramp and a curb ramp are features specially designed to facilitate access by 

a person with a mobility disability. Generally, both enable a person with such a disability to 

navigate from the parking-lot or street level to a sidewalk or building entrance. Without an access 

or curb ramp, a person with a mobility disability would be severely hampered in any attempt to 

access a building from the parking lot. Additionally, both are mandated by federal law, see 28 

C.F.R. pt. 36, app. A $5 4.7,4.8 (1998), and federal law sets out precise specifications for each, see 

id. For example, an access ramp generally shall have a slope of 1: 12 with a maximum rise of thirty 

inches, see id. 5 4.8.2, shall have a minimum clear width of thirty-six inches, see id. 5 4.8.3, shall 

have level landings, see id. 5 4.8.4, and shall have handrails in certain circumstances, see id. 5 4.8.5. 

Similarly, a curb ramp “shall be provided wherever an accessible route crosses a curb,” see id. 

5 4.7.1, shall have amaximum slope of 1:12, see id. $5 4.7.2,4.8.2, shall be at least thirty-six inches 

wide, see id. 5 4.7.3, and generally shall have flared sides, see id. 5 4.7.5. 

A van-access aisle is similar in function and purpose to a ramp and is also similarly required 

by law. A van-access aisle is specially designed to facilitate access by a person with a mobility 

disability by providing sufficient space adjacent to a parking space for such a person to exit a van 

and access the access or curb ramp, and from there, the building served by the parking lot. The 

ability of a person with a mobility disability to leave a vehicle and approach a building from the 
The Honorable Florence Shapiro - Page 3 (JC-0077) 

parking lot would be hampered without a van-access aisle. In addition, federal law requires that a 

specific proportion of total parking spaces in every public parking lot must be served by a van-access 

aisle. See id. $4.1.2(5)(b). The dimensions of the van-accessible parking space are regulated by 

federal law, see id. $5 4.1.2(5)(b), 4.6.3 & fig. 9, and may not slope more than a certain percentage, 

see id. 5 4.6.3. Van-accessible parking spaces must be designated with special signs. See id. 5 4.6.4. 

Given these numerous and significant similarities, we conclude a van-access aisle is an 

architectural improvement designed to aid persons with disabilities for purposes of section 

68 1 ,011 (c) of the Transportation Code. Moreover, we can surmise no reason for concluding that 

obstructing an access or curb ramp is an offense under section 681.011(c) of the Transportation 

Code, but obstructing a van-access aisle, which has the same purpose and function as a ramp, is not 

an offense. Particularly in light of the fact that section 681 ,011 as a whole appears to cover any 

wrongful use of a disabled parking space, we believe that no person could fail to be on notice that 

obstructing a van-access aisle is an offense. Thus, our conclusion comports with our duty to strictly 

construe this criminal statute. See Agey, 172 S.W.2d at 974; International G.N. Ry. Co., 179 S.W. 

at 868; Howell, 899 S.W.2d at 704. 

Accordingly, parking a vehicle so as to block a van-access aisle is an offense under section 

681.01 l(c) of the Transportation Code and is punishable under section 681.011(g)-(k). 
The Honorable Florence Shapiro - Page 4 (X-0077) 

SUMMARY 

Parking a vehicle so as to block a van-access aisle is an 

offense under section 681.01 l(c) of the Texas Transportation Code. 

Attorney General of Texas 

ANDY TAYLOR 

First Assistant Attorney General 

CLARK KENT ERVIN 

Deputy Attorney General - General Counsel 

ELIZABETH ROBINSON 

Chair, Opinion Committee 

Prepared by Kymberly K. Oltrogge 

Assistant Attorney General