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 washrooms in buildings.
Accessible Signage in Buildings
Signage includes information posted in print, as well as electronic displays.
Signs should be positioned in consistent locations, including:
- At building entrances and exits
- At turning points along paths of travel
Signs should have good lighting and avoid:
- Shadow
- Glare
- Vertical wording
- Scrolling
However, if a sign does scroll, characters and pictograms must move slowly.
In addition, all signs in the same location that provide the same type of information should have the same:
- Shape
- Colour
- Placement
For example, washroom signs in the same building should look the same and be in the same positions. Moreover, sign surfaces should have good colour contrast with their backgrounds. The standards list examples of good and bad colour contrast.
Similarly, symbols, pictograms, and characters on signs should have good colour contrast with the rest of the signage. For example, characters include:
- Letters
- Numbers
The standards list other requirements for characters on signs, including:
- Ratios for the widths and heights of:
- Whole characters
- Strokes within characters
The heights of characters should be based on how far away viewers are expected to be.
Signs should use sans serif fonts and be at least fourteen (14) font size. Numbers should be Arabic, and letters should be either all lowercase or a mixture of uppercase and lowercase.
If a sign indicates that a service or location is accessible, the sign should include the International Pictogram of Access.
Tactile Signs
The standards state that certain sign text and pictograms should be tactile, including on:
- Regulatory signs, such as:
- Mandatory signs
- Prohibition signs
- Warning signs, such as:
- Caution signs
- Danger signs
- Identification signs, such as:
- Rooms
- Titles
- Names
- Numbers
Letters and numbers should appear in both raised print and Braille, near the bottom of signs. Signs with ten (10) or fewer words should have uncontracted Braille. Conversely, signs with more than ten (10) words should have contracted Braille. Like non-tactile text, tactile print text should be in sans serif fonts. Moreover, text and pictograms should have good colour contrast. The standards list measurements for the height and depth of tactile text and pictograms. The standards also list measurements and other requirements for the placement of tactile signs near doors.
Alternatively, information on signs can be presented in other accessible formats.
Overhead signs do not need to be tactile, since they are too high to touch.