ADA Requirements
- Thread starterpeacefulone61
- Start date
Sony
Active Member
Yes...there are MANY regulations, and unfortunately I do not know all of them. The few I do know are you have to have a certain number of handicap accessible seats depending on how many seats you have total. If you are in a public building your seating rake can only rise 1 foot for every 20 feet of travel. I cannot remember much else, but if you contact the ADA directly I'm sure they will get you the information you need.
Your question actually seems to possibly address two different aspects. ADA addresses accessibility for those with disabilities and indeed does specify things like maximum slopes and require clearances for accessible areas, the number of handicapped and companion seats, handicap parking spots, accessible restroom facilities, etc. For example, a corridor or hallway for ADA access has to provide certain clearances, can't have obstructions below a certain height, must have specific clearances at any doorway or landing, cannot exceed a certain slope, etc. That is in addition to any seating and access requirements required by other building codes that are addressing architectural, structural, life safety and other building requirements.
Because of this duality, the ADA, which is under the Department of Justice, may offer interpretations of the ADA requirements however they will not provide design direction as there is the possibility of other code requirements or conditions supplanting or preventing compliance with ADA. There are individuals and firms who specialize in ADA compliance and on some larger projects I've been involved in the Architect will decide to include such people on their design team.
There are some situations where there is actually an ADA compliance inspection but those relate primarily to Federal government, and especially DoJ, facilities. I got involved in one new County courthouse that included courtrooms that fell under the purview of the Department of Justice where the DoJ ADA review was so bad that they forbid using the courtrooms until the brand new building and rooms could be rebuilt to be ADA compliant (I was part of the team brought in to address what that would require). Talk about some upset county taxpayers!
Theatres can get very interesting in interpretations of handicap accessibility as it extends beyond the patrons to the staff and volunteers. For example, if you may have someone come on stage from the audience then there needs to be an accessible path that allows that. And it can be even more of a challenge for public facilities as you start getting into what technical or operational roles are acceptable to not be accessible. It makes sense to not try to make catwalks accessible but what about booths and FOH? Do you deny a handicapped person all opportunity to be involved in activities they could easily handle if accessible?
Because of this duality, the ADA, which is under the Department of Justice, may offer interpretations of the ADA requirements however they will not provide design direction as there is the possibility of other code requirements or conditions supplanting or preventing compliance with ADA. There are individuals and firms who specialize in ADA compliance and on some larger projects I've been involved in the Architect will decide to include such people on their design team.
There are some situations where there is actually an ADA compliance inspection but those relate primarily to Federal government, and especially DoJ, facilities. I got involved in one new County courthouse that included courtrooms that fell under the purview of the Department of Justice where the DoJ ADA review was so bad that they forbid using the courtrooms until the brand new building and rooms could be rebuilt to be ADA compliant (I was part of the team brought in to address what that would require). Talk about some upset county taxpayers!
Theatres can get very interesting in interpretations of handicap accessibility as it extends beyond the patrons to the staff and volunteers. For example, if you may have someone come on stage from the audience then there needs to be an accessible path that allows that. And it can be even more of a challenge for public facilities as you start getting into what technical or operational roles are acceptable to not be accessible. It makes sense to not try to make catwalks accessible but what about booths and FOH? Do you deny a handicapped person all opportunity to be involved in activities they could easily handle if accessible?
The ADA regulations appear to be here:
2010 ADA STANDARDS FOR ACCESSIBLE DESIGN
2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design
There are links for two sets of documents:
2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design
and
Guidance on the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design (HTML)
The former appears to be the regulations, and the latter appears to be commentary on the regulations.
Click on the former, then scroll down to:
2010 STANDARDS FOR TITLES II AND III FACILITIES: 2004 ADAAG, and then there is an internal link for:
221 Assembly Areas
This should get you started, but as with any set of regulations, if you read a particular section, read any cross-referenced sections, and also find the “definitions” section.
Joe
2010 ADA STANDARDS FOR ACCESSIBLE DESIGN
2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design
There are links for two sets of documents:
2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design
and
Guidance on the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design (HTML)
The former appears to be the regulations, and the latter appears to be commentary on the regulations.
Click on the former, then scroll down to:
2010 STANDARDS FOR TITLES II AND III FACILITIES: 2004 ADAAG, and then there is an internal link for:
221 Assembly Areas
This should get you started, but as with any set of regulations, if you read a particular section, read any cross-referenced sections, and also find the “definitions” section.
Joe
peacefulone61
Active Member
Thank you all for the Great information. There is enough here that i can now get the school to at least open a discussion about accessibility.
To make it even more fun, what are the exceptions?
One of the venues I work at is an exception, would anyone like to take a guess at them?
peacefulone61
Active Member
I would be interested in knowing
peacefulone61
Active Member
lighthouse
Member
Nope, that is actually not an exception.
ALS is also not limited to entertainment areas, it tied to Assembly Areas which are defined as "A room or space accommodating a group of individuals for recreational, educational, political, social, civic, or amusement purposes, or for the consumption of food and drink." So it also applies to classrooms, meeting rooms, bars or restaurants with stages, etc. More specifically, ALS "applies to assembly areas where audible communications are integral to the use of the space", for which there are two categories defined; rooms that have to have permanently installed ALS systems (rooms that seat more than 50 people or have installed audio systems and that also have fixed seating) and all other rooms that can have permanently installed ALS systems or provisions for temporary/portable systems.
Here's a handy ADA checklist for Assembly Areas, SURVEY FORM 15: ASSEMBLY AREAS. I would not assume that this covers everything but it is useful to get an idea of what ADA compliance may involve for Assembly Areas.
I don't recall that, but it wouldn't be the first thing I forgot!
We are not subject to ADA requirements in Canada, but we do have similar codes when it comes to public access like Theaters. On a related matter our facility is thinking of purchasing an ALS system. Sennheiser was recommended but I would rather hear from the teck's who have the systems rather than a sales pitch from a manufacture rep.
We had a demo a few years ago with an IR system, but did not like it.
Anyone out there have a system to brag about?
We had a demo a few years ago with an IR system, but did not like it.
Anyone out there have a system to brag about?
My venue acquired a Phonic Ear FM system via the Canadian Hearing Society in 2006. It's been working fine through the past 4 seasons for our venue. It is piggybacked on our existing audio feed for the backstage areas. The sound source is a Sennheiser ME66 shotgun microphone mounted below our FOH lighting catwalk.
The audience seems to like it and the Front of House staff don't have any issues with signing out and getting back headsets.
I suggest you find a similar organization in B.C. and invite them to make a recommendation. The right system for my venue may not be the right system for yours.
The audience seems to like it and the Front of House staff don't have any issues with signing out and getting back headsets.
I suggest you find a similar organization in B.C. and invite them to make a recommendation. The right system for my venue may not be the right system for yours.
I have held off posting in this thread because I am not familiar with the ADA, living in Ontario is my excuse. Since the ice has been broken here's my $.019 USD ($.02 CAD)
My venue did some renovations in 2001. When we were scoping the project were asked to provide some improvements for people who had some combination of visual, auditory, and mobility impairment. Our wheelchair locations are at the back of the house (less than 60 ft from the stage). The request was to bring them closer to the stage.
If memory serves, the standards at the time called for a 20 foot turning radius for motorized scooters, which would have meant the loss of about 100 seats, or a third of the house. We could not afford to lose a third of our revenue. The ramps required to reach that location would have consumed the entire lobby extension we were planning.
The moral of the story, if there is one, is: should you be considering renovations to an existing space, consult an architect who is knowledgeable on building codes and applicable statutes for public spaces: Here there be dragons!
My venue did some renovations in 2001. When we were scoping the project were asked to provide some improvements for people who had some combination of visual, auditory, and mobility impairment. Our wheelchair locations are at the back of the house (less than 60 ft from the stage). The request was to bring them closer to the stage.
If memory serves, the standards at the time called for a 20 foot turning radius for motorized scooters, which would have meant the loss of about 100 seats, or a third of the house. We could not afford to lose a third of our revenue. The ramps required to reach that location would have consumed the entire lobby extension we were planning.
The moral of the story, if there is one, is: should you be considering renovations to an existing space, consult an architect who is knowledgeable on building codes and applicable statutes for public spaces: Here there be dragons!
For RF systems my first choice is usually Listen Technologies, however Williams Sound, Phonic Ear, Comtek and Sennheiser are also common names for RF systems. For IR system Listen Technologies, Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, Danish Interpretation System (DIS), Williams Sound and Bosch are common products. There are also induction loop systems from companies like Oval Window and Ampetronic.
Each approach has pros and cons. RF systems are generally the simplest and least expensive option. They are not limited to line of sight, which can be both an advantage and a disadvantage as some tours and other groups may not like the idea of anyone with a compatible receiver being able to 'listen in' on a show. This is also a major issue for courtrooms that generally don't want people outside the room to be able to eavesdrop so easily. RF systems also require dedicated receivers, although neckloops can be used with the receivers to support hearing aid T-coils.
IR systems take a bit more planning and require line of sight from the receivers to the transmitter (or emitters). Because of this, they are often blocked from transmitting outside the main house, which may be a benefit. Like RF system, IR systems require dedicated receivers.
Induction Loop or IL system used a wire loop or grid that can be picked up directly by hearing aids with T-coils or by dedicated receivers. These systems also require a bit of planning and design and although fairly easy to incorporate in new construction or major renovations, they can be more of a challenge to add to some existing spaces.
Another consideration with ALS systems is whether they will be used only for direct Assistive Listening or whether the same systems may also be used for language interpretation or multilingual presentations. A multi-channel RF or IR system could be used to provide ALS on one channel and interpretation or alternative languages on other channels with either receivers dedicated for each purpose or tunable receivers that can be preset or user tuned for different audio channels.
peacefulone61
Active Member
Most ADA requirements are driven by the building code in your state.
The Federal guidelines and standards are exactly that-guidelines and a standard.
That standard needs to be referenced by law to be enforceable.
MA is one state that comes to mind as being more stringent than the IBC when it comes to ADA--check with your state building inspectors for the current code and code requirements.
The Federal guidelines and standards are exactly that-guidelines and a standard.
That standard needs to be referenced by law to be enforceable.
MA is one state that comes to mind as being more stringent than the IBC when it comes to ADA--check with your state building inspectors for the current code and code requirements.
