It’s all about accessibility

By Dan Natchez*

How many times have you sprained an ankle, broken a bone or otherwise suffered a temporary mobility issue? I know I have, on more than one occasion, and thankfully they were all relatively minor and short-lived injuries. I was fortunate that the injuries were not more severe or permanent, even though at the time of the injuries I might not have been thinking that. There is, however, a growing segment of the population, particularly as more and more baby-boomers reach retirement, that unfortunately have mobility and other issues that are longer-lasting or permanent.

At a point many years ago, when I was interacting with the US Access Board, which develops Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidance/ requirements in the US, and providing industry input on the draft rules for recreational boating and fishing facilities, I learned what a TAP is – a Temporarily Accessible Person. A simple, but very potent concept, as we are all just one incident away from being a person with a disability, whether for the short or long term.

In fact, it was not long ago that I twisted my ankle and had to wear a boot cast – ugh. I have been designing facilities for decades to be compatible for those with mobility issues. However, when wearing the boot, I became more acutely aware of what these issues are and how designs can be tweaked to be even more accessible for those with mobility problems. About the same time, the wife of one of the guys in my office suffered a bad leg break and had to be in a wheelchair for three months. He gained plenty of first-hand experience in how quickly a wheelchair’s front wheels can come to a dead stop with something as small as a half-inch unbeveled bump. Yes, a simple little bump can be a major hurdle for one with mobility issues and a raised door threshold between rooms can be a major obstacle to overcome.

The truth is that it usually does not cost more, or much more, to make designs accessible. This is not only good for people with mobility issues – making paths of travel and facilities easier to use is welcomed by all. Carrying packages, groceries or other items to or from one’s boat is always a chore, so having a lack of trip hazards, steps and obstacles is overwhelmingly appreciated, even more so if you happen to be pushing your wife in a wheelchair or your children in a stroller.

While ADA was a frontrunner, most countries these days have their own version of accessibility rules. For the international marine industry, The World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure (PIANC) adopted a set of accessibility guidelines, which I helped author, that parallels the broad features of the US rules.

The specific US ADA rules for the recreational marine industry are largely written as exceptions to the main rules and then there are exceptions to the exceptions. Can it be confusing…yes. Is it overkill…in some areas, perhaps. Is it expensive to comply…in most cases, not really, providing you plan for it in both your maintenance and capital budgeting procedures.

Basic guidelines

With respect to existing facilities and what triggers ADA compliance requirements, there are some basic guidelines to follow.

Fix what you touch: If you have to replace something and it can be made compliant on a reasonable basis, then you should do it. If the doorknob to the men’s toilet breaks and needs to be replaced, then it should be replaced with compliant hardware, even if the rest of the door and restroom are not yet compliant.

A key factor to keep in mind on this rule is that one should not put off maintenance, repair or replacement work in situations where you truly cannot afford or it’s technically infeasible to carry out the accessibility fix to what needs touching. In addition, if your facility already complies with its overall accessibility requirements and there is work needed in some part of the facility that is not required to be accessible, then again there would be no requirement to apply the accessibility fix – though in many situations it may well just make sense to incorporate at least some of the accessibility guidelines, like eliminating trip hazards, as in the process you will be making the facility safer and easier to use for everyone.

Cheap & Easy: You are obliged to actively remove barriers where readily achievable (easily accomplished without much difficulty or expense). Are there simple improvements that you could undertake to improve accessibility, such as replacing the doorknob even though the existing knob is not broken or adding a piece of diamond plate to eliminate the existing bump at the entrance to your gangway, or to cover a gap between pontoon decking?

20% Rule: Any time an improvement is made to a primary function area then up to an additional 20% of the cost of the project must be spent on improving the accessible path (unless the entire accessible path is already or can be made fully compliant with the Accessibility Guidelines for less than 20%). Improvements to the accessible path can include any feature that is not the primary function of the facility. For marinas, berths are usually are the primary function. Therefore, such items as gangways, paths, parking spaces, restrooms, water fountains and even vending machines on the accessible path can qualify for the 20% of improving the accessible path. So, if a marina facility is going to undertake a $100,000 capital improvement by adding new pontoons and removing and replacing existing berths, then, if the facility is not already ADA-compliant, up to an additional 20%, or $20,000, has to be applied to barrier-free compliance, which could include installing a compliant gangway, removing stairs or trip hazards or even upgrading the restrooms. In large part, the approach to the compliance expenditure is dependent upon how one defines their ‘primary function’. Defining one’s primary function and designating the areas of compliance can be very important to maximising flexibility in how the compliance is achieved and maximising the expenditure for the improvements.

Changing attitudes

It does not take much to understand the broad concepts of accessibility. Most are based upon practical concepts. It gets murkier when you get into the specifics. The specifics are laid out in the various guidelines, rules and regulations. As it turns out, among the murkiest specifics in the US rules are what constitutes a ‘reasonable basis’, ‘technically infeasible’ and ‘readily achievable’, as there are no quantifiable thresholds laid out, which leaves it to those at the Access Board to advise, those at the US Justice Department to make judgements as the onsite enforcers and to the courts for the finality of deciding – and for facility-owners to decide how much risk they are willing to accept.

The US Access Board has set forth written guideline documents, together with diagrams and pictures, all of which can be found on their website. A note of caution – as attitudes and perspectives have changed over the years on almost every aspect of life, so has some of the advice forthcoming from the

Access Board, as well as from the Justice Department’ representatives on specific investigations, and there can be difference of interpretation within and between the agencies making things perfectly murky. This is partly due to changing perspectives and, in part, it is due to turnover in personnel and interpretations. Whenever you are undertaking work that is more dependent on language that is less clear as to its meaning, it makes sense to check in with the Access Board as to its current interpretation, as well as to keep abreast of new rules or guidance and published decisions.

Speaking of new guidance, if your marina is contemplating the installation of electric vehicle charging stations in your parking area, there are now accessibility guidelines for both the actual charging stations and the parking spaces that serve them. No news so far on electric boat charging parking spaces! That said, if you are installing a boat-charging station, it makes sense to make it as accessible as possible similar to the rules for other utilities.

In fact, accessibility applies to so many things we do not always think too much about. Power pedestals come right to mind. If your marina has power pedestals, your accessible berths need to have accessible power pedestals and if you are installing new pedestals elsewhere, it would make sense to install accessible units if this can be reasonably accomplished.

Security gates are another feature not always given enough thought. If there is a gate on the path to your accessible slips, it also needs to be accessible, including meeting the clear space requirements on both sides of the gate, ease of opening

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