Ramps

All diagrams taken from Designing for Accessibility, 2004 Edition, copyright CAE/RIBA Publishing)

Use of ramps

Ramps – both external and internal – connect different levels and are essential for wheelchair users and useful for others such as parents with pushchairs, shoppers with trolleys and some older people. They need to be designed and detailed with care if they are to have real practical value.

Disabled people who are not wheelchair users, and some older people, find ramps – particularly long ones – inconvenient or difficult, and prefer to use steps. Therefore a ramp should always be associated with steps in close proximity, which should also be carefully designed.

Building Regulations

In England and Wales, building design and construction is governed by the Building Regulations. These regulations comprise a series of requirements for specific purposes: health and safety, energy conservation, prevention of contamination of water and the welfare and convenience of persons in or about buildings.

Part M of the regulations sets minimum legal standards for access and use of buildings by all building users, including disabled people. Since a requirement for access was first introduced in 1985, there have been a number of changes to and extensions in the scope of access regulations.

The regulation avoids specific reference to, and a definition of, disabled people. This inclusive approach means that buildings and their facilities should be accessible and usable by all people who use buildings – including parents with children, older people and disabled people.

Previously, Part M covered new buildings and extensions to existing buildings. The 2004 revision brings Part M into line with other parts of the Building Regulations by extending its scope to include alterations to existing buildings and certain changes of use.

Approved Document M

Building Regulations are supported by 'Approved Documents' which give practical guidance with respect to the regulations. While their use is not mandatory – and the requirements of regulations can be met in other ways – Approved Documents are used as a benchmark by the local authority. The new Approved Document M (AD M), published in November 2003, offers technical guidance on providing access to and within buildings. It is informed by the relevant British Standard (BS 8300:2001 (Incorporating Amendment No. 1) Design of buildings and their approaches to meet the needs of disabled people – Code of practice), although the British Standard also contains guidance on issues that are not appropriate or realistic to control under Building Regulations approval and inspection procedures, such as interior decoration and the selection of door ironmongery. Dimensional criteria in the new AD M are largely in accordance with BS 8300:2001. Where there are differences, these result from accumulated experience fed back to the Government during its consultation on the new AD M, and this should be followed in preference to dimensional criteria in BS 8300:2001.

It is important that reference is made to AD M for details of the circumstances in which Part M applies and what provision is required.

Disability Discrimination Act 1995

From 1 October 2004, under Part 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA), service providers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to overcome physical barriers to access. For further information on the DDA visit the Disability Rights Commission website www.drc.gov.uk

Planning permission

Approval may be necessary for a ramp at the front of a building. If the building is listed or in a conservation area any proposed design will also need to be in character with the building, which may impose additional constraints, particularly where space is limited. English Heritage guidelines Easy Access to Historic Buildings features case studies of access improvements in conservation areas and listed buildings.

Design guidance

Where level access is not achievable, ramps enable wheelchair users and people with pushchairs to overcome level changes.

• Ramps should be accompanied by steps for ambulant disabled people where the rise of the ramp is greater than 300mm and by alternative means of access (a lift, for example) for wheelchair users if the total rise is greater than 2m.
• Ramped approaches should be clearly signed if not readily apparent.
• The permissible gradient of a ramp is dependent on the length between level landings (the 'going of the flight'). However, it should be noted that a route with a gradient of 1:20 over a significant distance can still be a potential barrier.
• Ramps should be as shallow as possible. The maximum permissible gradient is 1:12 (see Figures 1, 2 and 3), with the occasional exception in the case of short, steeper ramps when refitting existing buildings.

Figure 1 Ramp gradients

Figure 2 Short-rise ramp design

• The total going of a ramp flight should not exceed 10m and the total rise should not exceed 500mm.
• Ramps should be at least 1500mm wide.
• In existing buildings where an extreme level change would require a long, circuitous ramp or where space is limited, a short-rise lift may be appropriate either as an alternative or in addition to the ramp.
• Adequately large and unobstructed level landings at the bottom and top of the ramp and at any intermediate levels should be designed in accordance with Figures 2 and 3.

Figure 3 Ramp design (with adjacent steps)

• Intermediate landings at least 1800mm wide and 1800mm long should be provided as passing places when it is not possible for a wheelchair user to see from one end of the ramp to another or if the ramp has three flights or more.
• Level landings should have a maximum gradient of 1:60 along their length and a maximum cross-fall gradient of 1:40.
• Handrails, continuous to ramps and landings, should be provided to each side of the ramp set at appropriate heights and extending beyond the top and bottom of the flight (see Figures 2 and 3).
• A kerb at least 100mm high should be provided on the open side of any ramp or landing (in addition to any guarding required under Part K). It should contrast visually with the ramp and landing.
• Avoid patterning which simulates steps, such as applied or inserted slip-resistant strips.
• Surface materials should be slip-resistant when wet, firmly fixed and easy to maintain. The colour of the ramp surface should contrast visually with the landing surface. The frictional characteristics of the landing and ramp surfaces should be similar.
• It is not recommended to use corduroy tactile warnings to indicate ramps or lifts, as these are properly used to indicate the start of a flight of steps or stairs.
• Consideration should be given to adequate lighting.

Temporary ramps

In situations where for whatever reason a permanent ramp cannot be installed in an existing building, a temporary ramp may be a preferred solution (though when designing new buildings this would not be acceptable).

Temporary ramps, especially long or heavy ones, can be awkward to handle. It may also be difficult to provide a top landing of recommended size. A temporary ramp’s rise should not exceed 500mm, and the gradient should not exceed 1:12. All ramps should be firm and secure in use.

Handrails

People who have difficulty negotiating changes of level need the support of handrails. They should be provided in conjunction with changes in level, flights of ramps and steps.

• For heights of handrails see Figure 2 and 3.
• Handrails should be continuous across flights and landings.
• Consideration should be given to the provision of a second (lower) handrail set at 600mm on stairs, particularly in schools, for use by children and people of short stature.
• For handrail profiles and dimensions see Figure 4.
• Handrails should be easy to grip and provide good forearm support for people who are unable to grip. They should be configured with a positive end to reduce the risk of clothing being caught on the ends of rails.
• Surfaces such as hardwood or nyloncoated steel are recommended in preference to surface materials that are cold to the touch.
• The handrail should be easily distinguishable from its background, without being highly reflective.

Figure 4 Handrail profiles