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 transit stops.
Accessible Transit stops
Shelters, and other features of transit stops, should not create obstacles on accessible paths. Moreover, these features should comply with requirements for accessible:
- Paths of travel within buildings
- Building controls
- Ramps and doors
- Floor or ground surfaces
- Signage
- Designs that remove barriers, including:
- Acoustics
Furthermore, shelters and other features should be arranged in the same way at every stop, to help people navigate. For example, stop polls should indicate the location of every stop. People should easily recognize these polls by sight and touch as polls specifically for transit stops. In addition, every stop should have a tactile direction indicator. The standards list measurements for the heights of polls and the depth of tactile direction indicators.
Moreover, signage that indicates transit routes should provide this information visually. In addition, signage should provide this information in either:
- Braille and raised print
- Audible signals activated automatically or by the user
If polls or signs contain stop identification numbers, they should appear in:
- Braille
- Large print
- Raised numerals
Polls and signs should not have corners or sharp edges.
Traffic lanes should not separate a transit stop from an accessible path. However, if this arrangement is unavoidable, the poll and signage should be at the intersection of the path and the pedestrian crossing.
Areas for Boarding and Deboarding
Similarly, if traffic lanes separate an area for boarding and deboarding from an accessible path, a pedestrian crossing should connect the boarding and deboarding area to the path. This pedestrian crossing should have a signal that announces the connection to the area for boarding and deboarding.
Likewise, if a boarding and deboarding area is in a bicycle lane, the lane should be level with the nearest accessible path, but not level with the nearest road. If the lane includes a ramp, it must have tactile attention indicators at the top. Tactile attention indicators should also separate the bicycle lane from the path. Signage should remind cyclists not to enter the area while transit passengers board and deboard.
Boarding and deboarding areas on the side of roads should have accessible paths to walking routes.
Furthermore, when platforms are two hundred and fifty millimeters (250MM) above the level of transit vehicles and have unprotected edges, those edges should have tactile attention indicators.
In addition, boarding and deboarding areas should include spaces for people to board in their assistive devices, such as wheelchairs or walkers. The standards list measurements for the length and width of these spaces. The standards also list ratios for the slopes of boarding or deboarding areas.
Transit Shelters
Transit shelters should be level with accessible paths. The standards provide measurements for shelter doorway openings and clear floor areas inside them.