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External environments fact sheet

5.12 Access and parking for blue badge holders

To avoid creating inaccessible areas for people with mobility problems it is an essential priority in fully pedestrianised areas to make provision for BlueBadge holders by setting aside special reserved parking spaces
around the edge of the pedestrianised area and inside car parks within the area. These spaces should be close enough to the premises and facilities to be within their mobility ranges.

When establishing these spaces, care must be taken to ensure that they are sufficient in number to cater for the needs of residents, employees, shoppers and visitors, bearing in mind that residents and employees may need to park all day. The use of these spaces should be regularly monitored and their numbers and location adjusted as required (see 5.15 Car Parking).

Layout and design

Wide open spaces, as found in pedestrianised precincts, present particular difficulties for blind and partially sighted people. Unless some form of guidance is provided, guide dogs and even cane users could walk in at one side and out at the other without locating the facility they are seeking.

Safe, obstacle-free routes should be a feature of a pedestrianised area. However, they must be planned through and around the area to provide access to the facilities within the area. They must be detectable and defined for the benefit of blind or partially sighted people by such means as tactile surfacing (directional guidance paving) or edge demarcation.

Street furniture can be a potential hazard and must therefore be carefully sited. It must not obstruct pedestrian through routes, although it can be usefully employed to define routes or delineate areas with different functions such as sitting areas (see 5.2 Street Furniture).

Uncomfortable surfaces should not be used where they may prevent people who are unstable on their feet from reaching facilities such as seats, telephone boxes and information boards etc.

Many features can act as markers for people with a visual impairment to orientate themselves. Sounds and smells such as rustling leaves or perfumed plants are said to provide good guidance for blind or partially sighted people.

5.1 Footways and Footpaths and 5.2 Street Furniture contain advice on the use and siting of street furniture. Although generally aimed at furniture within conventional roads they are also equally relevant to pedestrianised areas.

Pedestrianised areas should ideally be on one level with no slopes of a gradient greater than 1 in 20. If changes in level are unavoidable ramped routes should be provided in addition to steps. These should comply with the advice and specifications given in this Code of Practice (see 6.2 Ramps, 6.3 Steps and Stairs and 6.4 Handrails).

Where kerbs are encountered along pedestrian routes - for example when the route crosses a road where limited vehicular access is permitted - the kerbs should be dropped flush with the carriageway and the ramp down to the carriageway identified by Blister Surface for Pedestrian Crossings (see 5.6 Tactile Paving).

If the pedestrianised area is on two or more levels, access between levels for people in wheelchairs should be provided by lifts (see 6.7 Lifts) and spiral ramps which conform to the specifications within BS 5810. In addition, steps as detailed in 6.3 Steps and Stairs must be provided.

Escalators and inclined travelators can be of great assistance to many people with a mobility impairment. They can also be inaccessible to anyone who is unsteady on their feet and people using wheelchairs (see 6.8 Escalators and Travelators).

As specified for footways, pedestrian routes within pedestrianised areas should be well lit (see 5.11 Lighting) with an even, firm, welldrained surface which is non-slip in wet and dry weather and has closed flush joints to prevent trapping small wheels and walking sticks. The tendency to use tiled or marble floors, particularly in shopping malls, can lead to serious problems for walking stick users and people on crutches. The smooth surface can be slippery when wet or when on a slight gradient. Textured surfaces are preferred.

Careful consideration must be given to surface drainage, but crossfalls must not exceed 1 in 40 as steeper ones will cause great difficulties for people using wheelchairs and others with mobility impairments. Ideally, crossfalls should be avoided, and where a combination of endfall and shallower crossfall can provide adequate drainage, crossfalls should be reduced.

Inspection and chamber covers and gully gratings should be kept clear of pedestrian routes. Where this is not possible covers must be close-fitting and flush with the surface. Gully covers must have narrow slots or openings
not exceeding 13mm, with the slots running across the line of the route.

Pedestrianised areas, Access, Mobility ranges

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