Blog
‘Accessible Routes & Path of Travel’ Category
Clear Floor Spaces – Are they Really Clear?
There are certain things in Access that at first and even second glance, appear to be clear. But many of the simple things are not as intuitive as you might imagine, particularly if you are not a wheelchair user. Clear floor spaces, for instance.
Accessible Routes and Other Pedestrian Ways
Over the years people use various terminology referring to areas where pedestrian move – circulation path, accessible route, path of travel, and accessible means of egress. But the question is, are all of these terms inter-changeable or do they have some nuance of difference in their meaning? The answer is, they do overlap each other, but there is indeed differences between each of the terms. It would be good to understand the differences since the ADA Standards has further requirements for each of these categories and limits some of what we can do within each.
Proportional Spending — Exactly what is it?
Proportional spending translates basically into how much additional money will be required to be spent over and above construction costs of a project to provide access for path of travel items. It only comes into play when performing alterations to primary function areas per ADA or all altered spaces per CBC, or altering the usability of a space, or additions to existing buildings or facilities. Some of these items may not even fall within the altered area but support the area itself. So if you are only doing new construction this does not pertain, although new construction and an altered area itself are required to totally comply.
Signs and Things – Types
In a previous article I provided an overview of the component pieces that go into signs. So the next question is, what components go into what kinds of signs? There are many sign types, each with their own requirements and exceptions. In order to understand some of the requirements the Components article should also be […]
Signs and Things – Components
One of the most forgotten elements is signage. Basically it can be divided into three groups – permanent room signs, way-finding, and informational signs, but there are other types as well. Permanent room signs also have requirements for installation location with criteria for clear floor space in front. Height requirements have now been changed with […]
Readily Achievable Barrier Removal
Janis Kent, FAIA, Architect, CASp © August, 2012. Updated February 2021 There is a common misconception – because a building is old, one is ‘grandfathered in’ so nothing needs to be done to make it accessible. This is not true. Building and business owners are indeed obligated to make places of public accommodation more accessible. […]
Carpets and Area Rugs
You want your lobby, waiting room, or seating area to have a more residential or intimate feel to the space. So you place a lovely area rug on top of the wall-to-wall carpet or hard surfaced floor. No problem, right? Well, yes there is. The issue is, that even though the size is much larger […]
Queueing
You are expecting crowds to line up due to a sale, so you get out the speed rails and place them on the sidewalk to better organize people while waiting to get in. Rather than have the line as a single queue you arrange it to have several switchbacks. You measured it off and are […]
Walk-Off Mats
It’s raining out and as business owners, what is one of the first things we do? The walk-off mats come out of the wood-work and get placed right at the store, restaurant, or office lobby entries. It is part of our linen service so what could be wrong with that? And since the floor gets […]