It may be summer still, but there is always time to think about tax deductions, especially if you own a business. If you’re trying to rack up as many tax deductions for the year as you can, you may want to consider getting some parking lot striping done. One great way to add some deductions to your taxes, as well as to make things better for your handicapped patrons, is to add some truncated domes or some warning mats.

Truncated domes and warning mats are a way for the visually impaired people to be able to know what is going on under their feet even when they’re just walking in your parking lot or are going from your sidewalk onto your parking area. Truncated domes are used in all of the big businesses, and are designed to be inconspicuous to those who are not handicapped, making them work well for everyone. By getting your parking lot striping and your truncated domes done at the same time, you can not only make your business look nicer, you can add on a justified business expense.

In July of 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law, which meant that a lot of businesses had to quickly change their design to allow those people who are handicapped to have easy access to their store. The ADA still affects all of those people who own a physical business, and many business owners aren’t quite sure what they should do to make their business compatible to the law other than to put in ramps. The truth is, there are a number of changes you can make that will help you to stay abreast with all of the necessary changes you should make to be ADA compliant.

Truncated domes are a great way to not only go a step further in your compliancy, but to also make it nicer for your customers and clients to visit your store. Truncated domes are basically pavement that has been raised slightly, allowing someone who can not see to know that there will be a change in pavement coming up shortly, making it easier for them to get around and in and out of your building and your parking lot.

One thing that always makes for good business is when you choose to help your neighborhood. The better the opinion of your business is, the more likely you will be to get clients and customers coming in to look at your wares and spend their money. An easy way to show how much you care about the neighborhood, and all who inhabit it, is to introduce truncated domes into your sidewalk or parking lot.

Truncated domes are basically simple changes in pavement that may mean little to the feet of a regular person, but that are a way to let someone who is visually impaired know that the pavement is changing or that they may be getting ready to walk into traffic. Truncated domes are an excellent way to help those in your neighborhood who often are not thought of. You would be surprised at how well truncated domes and detectible warning mats help those who are unable to see, as they have been responsible for helping more than a few people to avoid getting into a car accident or to not trip and fall when the pavement suddenly rises or falls.

If you’re thinking about redoing your parking lot area, you may want to think about adding some truncated domes. Truncated domes are also known as tactile paving, and are, basically, patterned and raised inserts that are placed in specific locations in your parking lot, allowing those who have visual impairments to be able to navigate around your parking lot more quickly.

For instance, if you have an area where the pavement slopes down, you may want to add in a sloped truncated dome. This will allow the impaired person to know that there is a change in the grade of the pavement. Or, on the other hand, if your parking lot and your sidewalk are the same level, a long length of tactile paving can help a blind person to know where the sidewalk ends and the parking lot begins, helping them to avoid getting in the way of a moving vehicle. Truncated domes can also be a great asset in a parking garage, where they can help a visually impaired person to feel the difference between the parking lot area and the sidewalk, or any other area in the parking garage that may be a different level.

Those of us who have no disabilities often do not think about the little things that can catch a person who has disabilities up. For us, stepping up onto a curb or walking down an incline onto a grate is simple. Someone who is visually impaired, however, may have a difficult time with these things, especially if they are in an area or at a business that they have never been to before. One way to make your parking lot safe, without having to make any drastic changes, is to bring in detectable warning mats.

Businesses that are redoing their paving often choose to have a bit of tactile paving done, allowing their handicapped customers or employees to have a better idea of what areas in the parking lot they need to be careful around. If you do not have the funds to change your entire parking lot around, or if you do not want to deal with the hassle, you can purchase detectible warning mats. These mats are thick and anchor to the ground easily, allowing you to make your business ADA approved without having to make large and drastic changes.

If you’re just hearing the words “truncated domes” for the first time, you may have no idea what they are. Truncated domes are known by many names, including tactile paving, detectable warnings, and tactile ground surface indicators. These warnings are a textured surface that is placed in areas where the cement will be approaching the street, or where there will be a drop off of some sort, to allow those who are visually impaired to know that there will be a change in the footing coming up shortly.

Since the 1990’s, the ADA has made it necessary for those who have hazardous or difficult areas to have truncated domes set up in their area, so that those who are visually impaired can get around without having to worry about hazards. These are extremely easy to have placed in your business and parking lot, and can go a long way in helping a blind person to get around easily. If your business currently does not have any truncated domes, and you have one or more areas where the pavement changes or there is a sharp drop off, you may want to look into having truncated domes installed.