Accessibility
Articles
“National Center Promotes Use of Accessible and Universal Design Along Byways,”
America’s Byways Resource Center; Vistas, July/August 2006
Accessibility: National Center Promotes Use of Accessible and Universal Design Along Byways
The prevalence of disability continues to be on the rise in the United States. Today, one of out of every five Americans has a functional impairment that limits daily life activities and two out of every seven families are affected by disability. The occurrence for disability is also of concern as baby boomers move into retirement and acquire disabilities related to aging and disease. In the field of parks and recreation there is a new emphasis and increasing awareness of disability among older adults as the relationship between disability status, quality of life, wellness and preventative health care has become clearer. The National Center on Accessibility (NCA) is one such organization working to promote the use of universal design among recreation and land management agencies. Since 1992, NCA has provided training, technical assistance and research to increase awareness and promote inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of recreation, parks and tourism.
As health concerns about risk factors of disability surface, the role that accessible recreation environments like trails and byways can play to support healthy living is becoming increasingly important.
Compliance with Federal disability mandates like the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Architectural Barriers Act is critical to building healthy communities. However, the accessibility standards related to these mandates are only minimum standards.
Simply stated, the term “accessibility” describes a minimal level of compliance with established standards needed to accommodate people with disabilities. Accessible design aims to provide accommodations for individuals with disabilities to benefit from all programs, audiovisual presentations, tours, exhibits and trails.
Taking the minimum concept of accessible design a step further, universal design aims to accommodate not only individuals with disabilities but the diverse needs of people of all abilities and all ages. Universal design is achieved through the creation of products and environments that are usable by all people, to the greatest extent, without the need for additional adaptation or specialized design. Because the goal of universal design is to accommodate a range of abilities, it is most cost effective.
NCA is a center of the Department of Recreation and Park Administration at Indiana University. Currently NCA is working on several initiatives to support land managers and recreation professionals. The initiatives of most interest to byway managers include:
- NCA’s National Trail Surface Study, a trail mapping and accessibility assessment pilot project utilizing GPS
- Professional training programs throughout the United States
- Technical assistance for consumers, land/facility managers, trail coordinators, accessibility specialists, architects, engineers and anyone with questions related to accessing recreation areas
NCA’s National Trails Surface Study
NCA’s National Trails Surface Study is a longitudinal study. For many years NCA has received and continues to receive questions from organizations, agencies and individuals who desire to make their trails accessible; are interested in an unobtrusive surface that blends and is friendly to the environment; and provide a quality trail experience for people with and without disabilities. Trail sites located in six regions of the United States will test native soil surfaces, accessible aggregate surfaces and surfaces that are stabilized with various types of manufactured stabilization products. The goal of this study is to determine the effectiveness of various types of trail surface treatments that enhance accessibility for people with disabilities. Applications to host trail study sites are currently being accepted by NCA.
Assessment Needs
There are two areas of assessment needs for land managers and trail coordinators. First there is a need to conduct thorough accessibility assessment of all facilities, identifying barriers to access for visitors with disabilities in order to prioritize barrier removal and ensure compliance with Federal accessibility mandates. Second, there is a need to conduct assessment of trails and byways, collecting information on slope, cross slope, width, maximum grade, features and obstacles. Output of such information in the form of trailheads, brochures and maps can assist visitors to make informed decisions on what trails or portions of trails are appropriate for their individual families.
To streamline these assessment processes, NCA has begun pilot testing the use of GPS and GIS. For accessibility assessment of outdoor recreation areas like picnic areas and campgrounds, NCA is pilot testing the use of GPS with handheld PDAs to collect information on the accessibility or barrier to features like routes, drinking fountains, picnic tables and restrooms. The information will be transferred to NCA’s newly developed Park and Recreation Accessibility Management System (PRMS).
Last summer, NCA staff developed PRMS to assist in conducting accessibility assessments in both the built and natural environments. The data management system eases data collection and analysis of physical barriers identified in park and recreation facilities. Currently NCA is experimenting with the system to develop a comprehensive trail assessment system, with all data being collected via satellite, then uploaded in the PRMS and transferred to a GIS mapping program to produce a detailed trail map and informational brochure.
Gary Robb, NCA’s Executive Director said, “This new technology will increase accuracy of assessments in both built and natural environments and will decrease data collection time while providing flexible and state-of-the-art outputs, depending upon our customers’ needs.”
Training Tools
NCA has several ongoing trainings that provide tools to land managers to expand opportunities to best accommodate individuals with disabilities in the most resourceful and cost-efficient manner. Trainings include both open registration training courses and programs specifically tailored to agency requests. NCA’s use of a broad speaker base of expertise, interactive discussions and field visits to enhance the curriculum serve as an opportune learning exchange. Professionals from all 50 States and countries such as Brazil, Canada, England, and Spain have benefited from NCA programs.
Ray Bloomer, Director of Education & Technical Assistance stated, “This summer the National Center on Accessibility will offer training courses in June, July and August on a variety of issues, including Federal legislation and requirements regarding both physical and programmatic accessibility in indoor and outdoor settings. These trainings will provide awareness through policy for managers, human resource departments, civil rights agencies and supervisors.”
Technical Assistance
Additionally, NCA serves as a resource and support center, providing technical assistance to countless individuals on a local, national and international level. Technical assistance is provided through various types of communication, including via telephone, e-mail and list serve. The NCA News list serve provides the latest news on accessibility issues from Federal agencies, courts and other media. Through this service, NCA has answered technical assistance questions posed by facility superintendents, land managers, individuals with disabilities and other parties with questions ranging from standards and regulations that relate to a facility, to how to find local resources, to vendor information, and technical information regarding fonts and texts for interpretive exhibits.
For more information on NCA initiatives such as the trails surface study, use of GPS or to subscribe to the NCA list serve, visit http://www.ncaonline.org or call 812-856-4422 (voice) or 812-856-4421 (TTY).