Barrier-Free Design for Disabled Persons - Evaluation Framework for Assessing the Quality of Accessibility On Public Buildings

This paper proposes a framework for evaluating accessibility features that have been incorporated in new buildings or retrofitted in existing ones. The guidelines are based on detailed observations and evaluations of accessibility provided within recent years in public buildings owned and operated by the federal Canadian government. The evaluation objectives focus not only on safety, functional ease and technical accuracy, but also on the operational requirements, the attitudes that are reflected by the solutions provided and the visual impact they have. Many of the accessibility provisions observed to date are far from satisfactory in view of the proposed evaluation guide. Therefore the conclusions reached are that if these issues are to be addressed appropriately, much greater comprehension must be developed on the part of the designers regarding the intent of barrier free standards, their degree of implementation, and how they affect and relate to disabled and able-bodied users.