Photo Album for Southeast Facilities & Visitor Services
Workshop, September 2000
Parking and Drop-Off Areas and Accessible Approach/Entrance
The team pictured above started in the parking lot of the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science (NCMLS), where they counted the total number of parking spaces available to visitors. They then consulted the checklist to determine if an adequate number of accessible parking spaces were available to visitors with disabilities.
Next, team members measured the dimensions of the accessible spaces intended for lift-equipped vans and checked to see if accessible spaces were marked with the international symbol of accessibility. They noted the need for new signage saying "Van Accessible" at van spaces.
A museum visitor using a wheelchair should be able to enter the building as freely as everyone else. Ednetta Ellis (foreground), vice chair of Universal Disability Advocates, demonstrated the need for curb cuts at drop-off points leading to accessible entrances.
According to the ADA guidelines, approaches to accessible entrances must be firm, stable, slip-resistant, and at least 36 inches wide. Also, if there is a slope leading to the accessible entrance, it should be no greater than 1:12. This means that for every 12 inches of approach, the height should increase no more than one inch.
Using two measuring tapes and a level, Dean Briere, NCMLS vice president for education and programs (left), calculates the slope of the walkway leading to the museum's accessible entrance with Jan Glenn, exhibit support assistant, Catawba Science Center, Hickory, NC.
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