The Accessible Journey

Universal Access Design:

Universal Access Design involves a fundamental shift away from the practice of removing barriers for a particular group of people, ie: people with disabilities, to a way of meeting the environmental needs of all users, regardless of age or ability.

It is a move away from providing separate and stigmatising design solutions for people with disabilities, like the ramped entry at the back of the building.

Universal Access Design...

• Improves the usability of the built environment.
• Promotes safety and well-being for everyone.
• Enables independent use of the built environment.
• Ensures that no one is excluded from use of the built environment by physical barriers.

Accessible Route:

For a building to be fully accessible, there must be an Accessible Route, that is continuous and can be followed independently.

This means that all features and parts of a building have to be accessible.

The Accessible Route...

• Should be usable by everyone, including people with disabilities
• Continuous route that can be negotiated unaided by a wheelchair user and people using a walking device or guide dog

Three practical design principles relate to the concept of the Accessible Journey:

Approachable:
Concerned with the exterior environs of a building, including carparking, to ensure that people with disabilities can get to a building.

Accessible:
Ensures that people with disabilities can enter and move about freely within a building without having to call for assistance.

Usable:
Means that the building and facilities are in fact usable by people with disabilities.