Continuous Accessible Path of Travel
"I have often found that it is near impossible to get anywhere if there are obstacles placed strategically in your way. Most of the time, shopping centres are guilty of this - as they try to keep up with the fashion and have tables outside the cafés. Although I like to sit outside on a nice day and eat my lunch, I also like to be able to walk past the shops without taking most of their tables with me on my way. There is nothing more frustrating than not to be able to just walk without killing yourself, or ripping your shins off on some shop's glass tables and chairs as you walk by."
- Guide Dogs client
What is a continuous accessible path of travel?
The Australian Human Rights Commission defines a continuous accessible path of travel as an uninterrupted route to or within premises or buildings, and providing access to all services and facilities. It should not incorporate any step, stairway, turnstile, revolving door, escalator, hazard or other impediment that would prevent it from being safely negotiated by people with disabilities.
Why does Guide Dogs NSW/ACT recommend a continuous accessible path of travel?
Obstacles placed on the footpath - for example, tables and chairs, clothes stands and signs - can pose a serious threat to people who are blind or have impaired vision. They can find it extremely frustrating and dangerous to collide with these obstructions continuously. An accessible path of travel makes moving around much easier and safer.
A continuous accessible path of travel for people who have impaired vision would:
- be relatively straight;
- preferably follow the building line to give easy access to premises, and allow easy identification of a shopping area's entry points and types of premises;
- follow either the kerb or fence line in other areas, but not swap between both on a regular basis;
- be free of obstructions such as street furniture and A-frame signs;
- have all street furniture set back from the boundary of the path;
- be free of hazards such as overhanging obstacles and pedestal obstacles - for example, telephone booths;
- be at least 1200 millimetres wide. (This is a minimum width, and wider paths are highly recommended. It is preferred that the path be a minimum of 1800 millimetres wide.)
The new Building Code of Australia and Australian Standard 1428.1 outline specifics on the need for, and location of, continuous accessible paths of travel. The Australian Human Rights Commission's "Advisory Notes on Access to Premises" provide additional specifications. Please refer to these authorities for more specific requirements.
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