The AODA has standards for the design of public spaces, but no standards for accessibility in other built environments. However, the Third Review of the AODA recommends improvements to all standards and laws governing buildings and public spaces. In addition, the review recommends that future AODA standards should align with existing standards in other parts of the country. For instance, Accessibility Standards Canada (ASC) and the Canadian Standards Association (CSA Group) have developed federal standards for accessibility in the built environment. Future AODA standards may include some or all of these guidelines and requirements to make buildings more accessible. In this article, we explore guidelines in the federal built environment standards for accessible landscaping.
Accessible Landscaping
Landscaping includes:
- Planters with flowers or shrubs
- Planting beds
- Plants or trees
Plants should be near accessible paths and rest areas, but not create obstacles on them. For example, planters with flowers or shrubs, tree branches, other plants, and guy wires should not become overhead obstacles. Landscapers should choose plants that will not grow to block paths at any height. Similarly, landscapers should choose trees with roots that will not one day disrupt the surface of paths. Likewise, landscapers should avoid plants that drop large seed pods.
In addition, plants should not create large shadowed areas that compromise lighting on paths. As a result, landscapers should choose plants and placements that will not create shadows on paths in summer or winter. Moreover, guy wires and the edges of planting beds should have good colour contrast with their surroundings. Planting bed edges should also contrast their surroundings in texture.
Ground cover or drainage from these beds should not enter paths beside them. For example, beds at a lower level than a nearby path should help drainage and ground cover remain in the bed. However, when a bed is lower than the path beside it, or soft, it should have edge protection. Furthermore, plants should not have thorns or sharp edges, and should not be poisonous.
Gratings around trees should:
- Comply with the standards’ requirements for gratings
- Be slip-resistant
- Have edge protection at the tree opening
The standards list measurements for the height of edge protection around planting beds and tree gratings, to ensure the safety of people travelling with assistive devices. Large trees without gratings should be planted in firm material at the same level as nearby paths. Tree guards should be easy for people to detect with white canes.