Continuing the discussion on ADA compliance, it's important for us all to understand the concept of universal design. This concept embraces not only the recognition that we must make our buildings accessible, but takes it a step further to do more to eliminate barriers. For example, designing ramps in place of steps even if the ramp is not required to meet the letter of the law.
I asked in the previous blog "how accessible is your school?". One exercise that I do with my students when I am lecturing on accessibility is to borrow a wheelchair and take them around the building we are in to have them experience first hand what it is like. It's a real eye opening experience for most. The simple act of pulling up to and opening a door is enough for them to realize why the ADA is so specific about this operation. You must have 18" of clearance on the side of the door if it opens towards you, the force to pull the door open cannot exceed 5ft/lbs, the handle must be the type that does not require a grasping and twisting motion and the door must have a clear opening of 32" min.
One common violation that I see is the placement of room signage. Often times it is attached to the door, which is not correct. In order for the signage to be in compliance it must be attached to the wall on the strike side of the door, mounted at 5ft to the center of the sign, contain the room name and number in braille, and be located no more than 8" from the door frame. This is so that a blind person can locate the room. If the door is in the open position, they would not be able to find the room number. Or if the signage is up too high to reach, again they would not be able to find the room.
Another common violation occurs when the lavatory for the handicap does not have the exposed plumbing lines covered under the fixture. The drain line and the water lines all must be covered with insulation. This is specified in order to protect the person in the wheelchair as they pull up to the lavatory so that their legs and feet are not injured by the exposed pipes.
One more item to be aware of is the side slope on sidewalks. The side slope cannot exceed a 2% grade on the width of the walk. Probably the most common injury for ambulatory people is loosing their balance and falling because of excessive side slope on walks.
Take universal design to heart. Tour your school campus and see what you can do to make your building more user friendly for all people.
Michael D. King AIA
Friday, February 17, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
ADA Compliance
The ADA (American With Disabilities Act) is not new legislation, it was put in effect over 20 years ago. Every school should have an action plan as to how to make their facilities handicap accessible. How accessible is your school?
There are 5 major components that lead towards making your facility accessible.
First, is there parking allocated for wheelchair access and is the path to the main entrance free from barriers? The designated handicap parking space must be at least 96" wide with a 60" access aisle adjacent to it. If you only have one h.c. parking space it must be designated as 'van accessible' and be 132" wide. The van space can be 96" wide if it has an adjacent access aisle of at least 96" wide. The pathway from the h.c. parking space must be accessible to the main entrance. No slopes of over 5% are allowed unless they are ramps. The ramps cannot slope over 8.33% (a one in twelve rise to run ratio) and must have handrails on both sides. The ramp cannot run more than 30' in the horizontal distance before having a level landing of at least 5'. There cannot be more than a 1/2" rise to overcome along the accessible path. For instance, if a tree root has caused the sidewalk to raise up and crack, if the rise is more than 1/2", it is considered to be a barrier.
Second, is the path of travel in the interior of the facility free from barriers? Access to all goods and services must be on an accessible path. Education is the service provided in the school, so all floors and all spaces must be accessible.
Third, are your restrooms accessible? All components of the restroom must be accessible. The ADA requires certain heights for the plumbing fixtures and at least one stall to be accessible (5'x5'). Mirrors, hand dryers and soap dispensers must be set at the appropriate height for the user of the facility. If you are building an addition to your school and it does not contain restrooms, then you must assure that accessible restrooms are available in the existing bldg. and that the restrooms are along an accessible pathway.
Fourth, are your drinking fountains accessible? ADA requires that drinking fountains be set at certain heights for the main users of the bldg and that they be located in pairs. One to be set at a lower height for wheelchair users and one set at a slightly higher elevation for those people that might have difficulty stooping over at the lower of the two fountains.
Fifth, are your public telephones accessible? This requirement is not difficult to comply with since the advent of mobile phones. But if you do have phones available to the public, one must be set at an accessible height.
These are simply the basic things you should be looking for to have an accessible facility. There are of course quite a few more items such as doors and door hardware that will make the interior pathway of the bldg accessible or not. If you do not have a plan in place to remove the barriers in your school, we highly recommend that you put one in place as soon as possible. More and more lawsuits are being filed every year by accessible advocates, and having a plan in place would greatly assist, should you be filed on.
Michael D. King AIA
There are 5 major components that lead towards making your facility accessible.
First, is there parking allocated for wheelchair access and is the path to the main entrance free from barriers? The designated handicap parking space must be at least 96" wide with a 60" access aisle adjacent to it. If you only have one h.c. parking space it must be designated as 'van accessible' and be 132" wide. The van space can be 96" wide if it has an adjacent access aisle of at least 96" wide. The pathway from the h.c. parking space must be accessible to the main entrance. No slopes of over 5% are allowed unless they are ramps. The ramps cannot slope over 8.33% (a one in twelve rise to run ratio) and must have handrails on both sides. The ramp cannot run more than 30' in the horizontal distance before having a level landing of at least 5'. There cannot be more than a 1/2" rise to overcome along the accessible path. For instance, if a tree root has caused the sidewalk to raise up and crack, if the rise is more than 1/2", it is considered to be a barrier.
Second, is the path of travel in the interior of the facility free from barriers? Access to all goods and services must be on an accessible path. Education is the service provided in the school, so all floors and all spaces must be accessible.
Third, are your restrooms accessible? All components of the restroom must be accessible. The ADA requires certain heights for the plumbing fixtures and at least one stall to be accessible (5'x5'). Mirrors, hand dryers and soap dispensers must be set at the appropriate height for the user of the facility. If you are building an addition to your school and it does not contain restrooms, then you must assure that accessible restrooms are available in the existing bldg. and that the restrooms are along an accessible pathway.
Fourth, are your drinking fountains accessible? ADA requires that drinking fountains be set at certain heights for the main users of the bldg and that they be located in pairs. One to be set at a lower height for wheelchair users and one set at a slightly higher elevation for those people that might have difficulty stooping over at the lower of the two fountains.
Fifth, are your public telephones accessible? This requirement is not difficult to comply with since the advent of mobile phones. But if you do have phones available to the public, one must be set at an accessible height.
These are simply the basic things you should be looking for to have an accessible facility. There are of course quite a few more items such as doors and door hardware that will make the interior pathway of the bldg accessible or not. If you do not have a plan in place to remove the barriers in your school, we highly recommend that you put one in place as soon as possible. More and more lawsuits are being filed every year by accessible advocates, and having a plan in place would greatly assist, should you be filed on.
Michael D. King AIA
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