2/23/2017 Accessibility Design Manual : 1­Urban Designs : 3­Street Furniture

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Accessibility for the Disabled ­ A
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I. URBAN DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

3. STREET FURNITURE

1. PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

Lack of or improper design of street

furniture. Fig. 1
Obstructed pathways.

Inaccessible street facilities.

2. PLANNING PRINCIPLE

To design accessible amenities convenient

to all people, without obstructing the free
passage of pedestrians along travel Fig. 2
routes.

3. DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

3.1 General

Street furniture includes bus stops,

benches, mail boxes, lampposts,
signboards, telephone booths, public Fig. 3
toilets, newspaper kiosks, planting tubs,
garbage bins, etc.

3.2 Location (1)

Street furniture should be located so as

to allow for the free passage of all people
without creating hazards.

Textural changes in the footpath surface

help sightless people to identify the
location of public amenities (see
Obstructions).

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3.3 Resting facilities

Level rest areas with seats are helpful

for all pedestrians, especially for those
with mobility problems.

Resting facilities should be placed

outside the main circulation path in public
parks, recreational places, pathway
crossings, in front of accessible entrances
and exits and wherever necessary.

Resting facilities should be provided at

regular intervals between 100.00 m and
200.00 m (2) (fig. 1).

Some seating accommodations should

be placed close to public toilets,
telephones, etc.
Fig. 4
Resting spaces with benches should
allow a minimum of 1.20 m of adjoining
space for a wheelchair (fig. 2).

Public seats and benches should be

approximately 0.45 m above floor level,
with backrests at approximately 0.70 m
above floor level (fig. 3).

The height of a table should be between

0.75 m and 0.90 m and the minimum
depth under the table should be 0.60 m, in
order to fit a wheelchair under all sides
(fig. 4).

3.4 Public telephone booths (3)

At public telephone booths, one

telephone should be accessible to a
wheelchair user and another to a person
with a hearing impairment. Fig. 5

Telephones for the hearing impaired

should be equipped with hearing aid
devices and amplifiers. The location of
telecommunication devices should be
indicated by signs.

A push­button telephone numbering

system, with raised letters which can also
be read by touch, should be used for the
convenience of sightless users and other Fig. 6
disabled people. A dial numbering system
is not recommended unless the dial
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tension is reduced so as to require less

effort to rotate the dial.

A folding seat should be provided in

accessible telephone booths for the
convenience of people with mobility
problems.

The minimum unobstructed area in front

of the telephone counter should be 1.20 m Fig. 7
x 0.85 m, allowing either a parallel or a
frontal approach (fig. 5).

The coin slot should be mounted at an

accessible comfortable height between
0.90 m and 1.20 m.

The telephone cord length should be at

least 0.75m.

Accessible public telephones should be

marked by appropriate signs.

3.5 Mailboxes

Mailbox slots should be mounted at an

accessible height between 0.90 m and
1.20 m (fig. 6).

3.6 Water Fountains (fig. 7)

Drinking fountain spouts should be

located at an approximate height of 0.90
m.

Drinking fountains can have two spouts

located at different heights, one convenient
to wheelchair users at approximately 0.85
m, and one at approximately 0.95 m for
non­disabled people.

3.7 Signs (see Signage; Pedestrian

Crossings)

3.8 Garbage bins (see Obstructions)

3.9 Public toilets (see Rest Rooms)

3.10 Ticket vending machines (see Height

Limits)

4. EXISTING CONSTRUCTIONS

Resting facilities should be rearranged

where possible to allow an adjoining space
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for a wheelchair.

Facilities mounted at a maximum height

of 1.40 m are acceptable, while those
located at a higher level should be
modified.

Notes:

(1) Landscaped strips act as a buffer zone

between pedestrian and vehicular zones,
and street furniture can be located within
these strips.

(2) It might be beneficial to locate rest

areas at more frequent intervals on long
gradients

(3) Public telephone requirements also

include those in hotels, information booths
and other public areas.

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© United Nations, 2003­04
Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Division for Social Policy and Development

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