All the Rest—Other Important Tools for Accessible Recreation
The following tools work together with the accessibility guidelines when accessible recreation facilities and programs are being developed and managed.
Built Environment Image Guide
The Built Environment Image Guide (BEIG) (http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/beig/) provides guidance for improving the image, esthetics, sustainability, and overall quality of the Forest Service's built environment. It emphasizes key elements to showcase the Forest Service's national identity and an image of quality and service. Within eight geographically defined architectural character types, designs project the overall Forest Service image while echoing local values, heritage, and culture. The BEIG's use will lead to an integrated approach to planning and design, including early collaboration among planners, designers, specialists, managers, and maintenance personnel.
Buildings and other constructed features will:
- Fit on the land
- Reflect sensitive site planning and a concern for natural processes
- Harmonize with the local landscape and climate.
- Incorporate the principles of sustainability as an integral part of their architectural character
- Be accessible
- Be durable and low maintenance
The BEIG specifically requires use of universal design principles and points out that if universal design principles are applied to a site or facility design from the outset, they seldom, if ever, have any obvious effect on architectural character. When the principles of universal design are skillfully executed, facilities fit seamlessly within the natural and social environments.
Recreation Opportunity Spectrum
Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) classifications provide guidance on the:
- Amount of development that is acceptable at any given site
- Amount of deviation from the site's natural characteristics that is appropriate during development
- Types of materials that are appropriate for the setting.
- Typical recreation activities in each setting classification (figure 17)
Figure 17—This free climber appears to enjoy the
challenge, self-reliance,
and independence
characteristic
of semi-primitive and primitive
recreation
opportunity spectrum settings.
The spectrum identifies characteristics of Urban, Rural, Roaded Natural, Semi-Primitive Motorized, Semi-Primitive Non-Motorized, and Primitive areas. Some units also include a Roaded Modified classification. Maps should be available at district or supervisor's offices showing the ROS classification for the Forest Service system lands administered by that unit. ROS classifications don't determine accessibility requirements, but should be taken into account when designing site improvements. For instance, improvements in primitive and semi-primitive settings may sometimes be needed for resource protection. In roaded natural, rural, and urban settings, improvements commonly are provided for visitor comfort and convenience. More information about the ROS is available to Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management employees at http://fsweb.wo.fs.fed.us/eng/facilities/recopp.htm
Wilderness Access Decision Tool
Details and implementation guidance for applying Title V Section 507c, the one section of the Americans with Disabilities Act that applies to Federal agencies and to the programs and facilities on federally managed lands can be found at http://www.wilderness.net/toolboxes/documents/accessibility/wild_access_decision_tool.pdf
This decision matrix is designed to assist Federal managers of wilderness areas in making appropriate, objective, and consistent decisions meeting the legal requirement to provide equal opportunity for all individuals, while ensuring there will be no fundamental change to the wilderness experience for all individuals, in accordance with the 1964 Wilderness Act.
Appalachian Trail Conservancy's Backcountry Sanitation Manual
This comprehensive manual explains the basic issues of remote area sanitation, including health, esthetics, and regulations, but it focuses on the construction and maintenance of moldering and composting toilets, and includes a case study and design plans. The Backcountry Sanitation Manual (http://www.appalachiantrail.org/protect/steward/sanman.html) is a cooperative project of the Green Mountain Club and the Appalachian Trail Conference.
"Resolving problems of backcountry sanitation is a continuous challenge
for trail clubs and land managers. This manual was created in the belief that
all remote recreation areas will benefit from an expanded discussion of backcountry
sanitation."
Pete Antos-Ketcham, Education Coordinator/Facilities Manager, Green Mountain
Club
Accessibility Guidebook for Outfitters/Guides Operating on Public Lands
This guidebook provides a framework to help outfitters and guides who operate under a special-use permit from the Forest Service better serve all visitors (figure 18). The guidebook addresses basic facility accessibility issues, but focuses primarily on program and activity accessibility. Outfitters and guides who operate businesses on public lands are governed by the ADA because they are providing public accommodations and are also governed by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act because they are operating under special-use permits from Federal agencies. The guidebook identifies legal requirements and provides guidelines, suggestions, and practical tips for complying with both the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act while providing high-quality services. The guidebook is available at http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/accessibility/
Figure 18—Outfitters and guides provide the logistics
and support for visitors to enjoy a wide range of
opportunities on National Forests, including fishing.
Accessibility Guidebook for Ski Areas Operating on Public Lands
This guidebook provides a framework to help ski areas operating under special-use permits from the Forest Service better serve all visitors (figure 19). The guidebook addresses facility and program accessibility. Ski areas located on public lands are governed by the ADA because they are providing public accommodations and also are governed by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and related regulations, because they are operating under special-use permits from a Federal agency. The guidebook provides the legal mandates, suggestions, and practical tips for complying with laws and regulations, while providing high-quality services. The guidebook is available at http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/accessibility/
Figure 19—Ski areas that operate on public land must
provide equal opportunity to their services.
Cooperative Publications
The Federal Highway Administration is cooperating with the Forest Service to provide Forest Service publications and videos to the public. Many publications are available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/fspubs/index.htm in HTML and PDF (Acrobat) formats. Paper copies can be ordered at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/rectrails/trailpub.htm
Standard Forest Service National Trail Specifications
Engineering Management Publication EM-7720-103, Standard Specifications for Construction and Maintenance of Trails, provides a uniform set of specifications for contracted trail work throughout the Forest Service. Although these specifications do not address accessibility, they can be used in conjunction with the FSTAG. The publication is available at http://www.fs.fed.us/database/acad/dev/trails/trails.htm
Trail Construction and Maintenance Notebook
The Missoula Technology and Development Center's Trail Construction and Maintenance Notebook contains basic trail construction and maintenance information, presented in an easy-to-understand fashion. It is available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/fspubs/00232839/
Although this publication doesn't address accessibility, it is an important tool used during trail construction and planning. It can be used in conjunction with the FSTAG.
Sidewalks and Trails
The Federal Highway Administration has published Designing Sidewalks and Trails for Access, a two-part report on pedestrian accessibility:
- Part 1: Review of Existing
Guidelines and Practices is
available in both HTML and PDF formats at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/sidewalks/index.htm.
Part 1 lays out the history and practices of applying accessibility concepts to sidewalks and pedestrian trails. - Part 2: Best Practices Design
Guide is available in both HTML and PDF formats
at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/sidewalk2/index.htm.
Part 2 provides recommendations on how to design sidewalks, street crossings, intersections, shared-use paths, and recreational pedestrian trails.
Equestrian Design Guidelines for Trails, Trailheads, and Campgrounds
A new guidebook for equestrian facility design is scheduled for completion in 2006. This comprehensive technical resource guide will detail those elements of planning, design, and construction that are specific to equestrian trails, trailheads, and campgrounds.
The Facilities Toolbox
The Facilities Toolbox is an interactive, internal Forest Service facility management Web site designed to help line officers and their staffs manage facilities effectively. The toolbox focuses on issues at administrative sites, but also contains topics such as Accessibility, Partnerships, Recreation Fee Program, Historic Facilities, and Water and Wastewater. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management employees can access this Web site on their internal computer networks at http://www.fs.fed.us/eng/toolbox/
Infra
Infra is the Forest Service corporate integrated data management tool developed for the purposes of inventory, asset management, and upward reporting of information concerning constructed features, including their associated financial data. Infra contains data on the accessibility status of constructed features and data on annual and deferred maintenance costs associated with accessibility requirements. The recreation site data entry forms have fields to enter information concerning the status of accessibility under the site costs tab and also under the features tab. These data must be updated annually.
Recreation & Heritage Resources Integrated Business Systems
The Meaningful Measures recreation resources management system has recently become the Recreation & Heritage Resources Integrated Business Systems. This recreation resources management system identifies customer standards the Forest Service expects to provide across all recreation and heritage resources program areas. Standards form the baseline for estimating the total cost for quality visitor opportunities and services. Compliance with the accessibility guidelines (figure 20) is an important quality measure within the national standards for recreation sites under the responsiveness key measure. The Infra database houses recreation information including inventory, operation and maintenance costs, recreation-use data, and information on accessibility. The database is used to implement the Recreation & Heritage Resources Integrated Business Systems.
Figure 20—The perfect photo spot—a spectacular view
and the right
mix of resource protection,
site development, and accessibility.
Deferred Maintenance
Accessibility requirements must be met just as other building codes must be met. The costs for any needed accessibility improvements should be included in the Infra deferred maintenance figure. These costs are categorized as deferred maintenance because the work already should have been completed to comply with the ABA.
How and when the costs are included in the deferred maintenance figure depends on the transition plan for that facility. If transition plans have not been completed, the cost to complete them is included in the deferred maintenance figure because they were due for completion before the current fiscal year. The transition plan process (per 7 CFR 15e, section 150) is as follows:
- Evaluate the facility.
- Record improvements needed to meet accessibility standards.
- Develop the transition plan, including:
- Items to be improved
- When the improvements are scheduled if the improvements will take more than 1 year to complete
When the transition plan is completed and approved, the costs to implement accessibility code improvements are included in the deferred maintenance figure. If the transition plan will take more than 1 year to complete, costs for actions scheduled for the current year are included in the deferred maintenance figure. Costs for actions that are past due also are included in the deferred maintenance figure. Costs for actions scheduled for future years aren't added to the current year's deferred maintenance figure. They are added to the deferred maintenance figure in the year they are scheduled for completion. As work is completed, it should be shown as an accomplishment in Infra for that fiscal year.
Construction and Maintenance Practices
Even the best universal design can be ruined, often unintentionally, by construction or maintenance practices that change accessible design features into barriers. Construction engineering and inspection personnel must have a thorough understanding of the design intent and of accessibility issues or they must check with the designer before allowing any deviations from the design. For example, field changes such as increasing the slope on a walkway to reduce the cost of asphalt paving or increasing the drop at an exterior door threshold to reduce issues with driving rain can make the entire project inaccessible.
CONSTRUCTION TIP—Avoiding Unintended Consequences
Consider accessibility when construction is in progress. Any change order intended to solve one problem could create another. For example, standard speed humps can slow speeding traffic in a campground, but they can also become barriers if the main pedestrian access route through the campground is the roadway. Speed humps can be staggered to block only one lane at a time or limited to the center of the road, leaving 32 inches (815 millimeters) of clear passage at each side. Both of these approaches will slow traffic without blocking access.
Maintenance and operations activities can help or hinder accessibility. When maintenance personnel are being trained, include information on accessibility. When employees understand how their work can affect accessibility, they can look for ways to improve accessibility. For example, a chair or garbage receptacle beside the door of an accessible restroom stall will render the stall inaccessible if it prevents the door from opening fully. Picnic tables that are fastened to the floor of a picnic shelter to prevent theft but that aren't spaced far enough apart will be impossible for some people to use. When gravel walkway material is allowed to erode away from the entrance of a campground restroom, the restroom soon will become inaccessible.
Maintenance also can be an opportunity to improve accessibility. Over time, a series of small changes can make a big difference.
MAINTENANCE TIP—Improving Accessibility Through Maintenance
Improved accessibility doesn't always mean new construction or major renovation. Maintenance and routine service present many opportunities to improve accessibility.
An accessible surface is firm and stable. Use caution with the size and depth of gravel when maintaining unpaved surfaces. Generally, smaller gravel with some fine material can be compacted to a firmer surface than larger gravel or gravel that is all the same size. Depending on the surfacing material, mixing in some soil stabilizer might provide an accessible, natural-appearing surface.
Practical Approach
The surface is probably firm and stable if ruts are not left by:
- Someone riding a bicycle with narrow tires.
- Someone pushing a 3-year-old in a folding stroller with small plastic wheels.
On paved parking lots, designating the required accessible spaces is relatively easy when repainting the parking lot stripes, especially right after the lot has been seal-coated. Designating accessible parking spaces on gravel lots is even easier. All you need is a sign and probably some parking bumpers to generally define the width of an accessible parking space without obstructing the access aisle. Ensure that signs and curb cuts for ramps are located appropriately—NEXT TO, not in the parking space or access aisle.
Building entries must be within ¼ inch (6.4 millimeters) of being flush with the grade of the outside access route and have a beveled doorsill that isn't more than ½ inch (13 millimeters) high. Sometimes it's fairly easy to add surfacing material, shim up the deck or porch boards, or use asphalt or concrete to bring the access route up to the building floor.
The surface at the base of water hydrants at recreation areas must be firm and stable with a 60-inch (1,525-millimeter) turning radius. Consider building a wood or concrete surface around hydrants if a soil or gravel surface can't be made firm and stable. If you don't have funding for a major site renovation, you can repair the area around a few hydrants at a time.
When operating controls need replacing, think about accessibility. To comply with accessibility guidelines, all controls must be operable without pinching, grasping, or twisting the wrist and with no more than 5 pounds (2.2 newtons) of pressure. When accessible parts are ordered, consider ordering extra parts to keep on hand for future replacements.
Practical Approach
If you can operate the control with a closed fist and with less than 5 pounds (2.2 newtons) of pressure, the control is accessible. Three ways to provide accessible controls are shown in figures 21, 22, and 23.
 Figure 21 |
 Figure 22 |
 Figure 23 |
| Figures 21, 22, and 23-Examples of accessible operating controls. | ||
