How to build an accessible neighborhood?

[zdashamber]

Housing prices are heinous in the Bay Area and I live in Mountain View, where there are other people who realize we need to build more housing. We elected pro-housing people to the City Council, and there's a push to put in a dense neighborhood with multi-story housing and shops into the (currently hella boring 1-2 story) office park that Google lives in. There will be meetings this summer (one is set for Saturday July 25th at the Senior Center) to get public input into how this neighborhood should look/work; it might be possible to reroute streets, build bridges across the highway, all kinds of things.

What kinds of things would make it accessible? Things like:

• wheelchair-accessible units
  
• sidewalks on the main housing area wide enough for two wheelchairs to roll side by side
  
• shop doors right at street level
  
• chirping intersection markers that go off on their own (no button)
  
• indents where the bus can pull in, out of traffic, next to the sidewalk
  
• ...what else?

Is there stuff I don't have to mention because the ADA covers it? Who should I definitely reach out to so they can come advocate also?

(Edited to remove my own accessibility fail in language, sorry all)

Comments

[davidgillon]

Part M of the UK Building Regulations may give you some ideas. It should be easily Google-able, but let me know if you can't find it and I'll hunt up a copy (my tablet is lousy at copying urls). Non-obvious stuff that springs to mind, ground level toilets in accessible homes, percentage of disabled bays in parking provision should be higher than people imagine, people with mobility impairments loathe textured paving, people with visual impairments rely on textured paving (yes, those last two are mutually opposed).

[davidgillon]

As I'm on my desktop at the moment I just had a quick google, apparently Part M has been split in two for its latest version, so here are two links:
Dwellings: http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_AD_M1_2015.pdf
Buildings Other than Dwellings: http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/br/BR_PDF_AD_M2_2015.pdf

[lilacsigil]

Curb cuts or sloped curbs, pedestrian islands on wide roads big enough for a scooter. Accessible toilets in the shopping centre. Non-slip flooring in the shops as well as in homes.

And an issue that's big in my town at the moment: trees that don't drop a lot of slippery leaves, trees that are relatively low in allergens.

[gehayi]

Braille signs on shops, libraries, street signs, bathrooms, etc.

Restaurants with menus in Braille, large print and/or audio.

Doors with power-assisted door operators for the disabled. Especially bathroom doors.

Mats at entrances of buildings are level with the floor so that wheels of chairs and scooters as well as walkers, crutches and canes are not blocked by them.

Curb cuts are kept clean and have a non-slip surface.

Railings that don't conduct heat.

Walkways are not obstructed by poles, bicycle racks, plants, etc. (Such things may be present, but they aren't in anyone's way.)

Elevators with Braille signs and audio announcements of each floor. Also, the elevator should stay open as long as it takes for a weak or elderly person in a wheelchair to roll in; elevators are often designed with healthy people's speed in mind.

Street signs in large print using high-contrast colors.

Fire alarms have both visual and audio signals. NOTE: Please, no flashing lights. A visual signal that can trigger another disability, such as epilepsy, is not an advantage.

Bathroom doors and toilet cubicles large enough for wheelchairs, walkers and crutches. Architects frequently make the mistake of placing only one toilet for the disabled in each bathroom, when they should make ALL toilets accessible. (It's not unusual for those who aren't visibly disabled or aren't disabled at all to use the disabled toilet because of greater space. This tends to make things difficult when someone in a wheelchair or walker needs access to a toilet and the only toilets available are too narrow for them to access.)

Telecommunications accessibility for the deaf.

The general layout of stores, libraries, town halls, etc. is designed with wide aisles that can easily accommodate at least two wheelchairs side by side; counters/cashier desks are on the level of someone in a wheelchair; there are information desks that are accessible to those who cannot see, hear, speak using their mouths, walk, etc.; queuing areas and serving aisles can easily accommodate wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, service animals, etc., without getting in anyone's way.

Accessible routes are marked in bright, highly visible colors or in texture changes for those with limited vision or blindness. Note that texture changes can't hamper mobility aids.

the following washroom features are accessible to people with a wide range of disabilities:
grab bars
coat hooks
flush controls
wash basins
toilet paper dispenser
call button for emergencies
mounted automatic hand-dryers or paper towel holders
lever-handled faucets or automatic faucet

[lilysea]

(In 10% of the flats) Kitchen benches and kitchen sinks that are low enough for someone sitting in a manual wheelchair or powerwheelchair to use.

[azurelunatic]

Roll-in showers and baths.
Sliding glass doors on bathtubs of the sort which make the edge of the bathtub impossible to sit or step on are anathema.
Public seating that doesn't enforce a particular butt size as a bid to make the benches less attractive as a sleeping space. (Have you seen the glorified bike pedals passing as seats at some of the Muni stops in SF proper? Ugh.)
Individual bathroom cubicles which, in addition to being fitted with accessible features, have all the trappings for any given person's anatomy, complete with diaper changing table.

[davidgillon]

Picking up on that last point, public disabled toilets with hoist and changing surface for severely disabled adults - the UK campaign for additional provision is 'Changing Places' if memory serves.

[jazzyjj]

These are all great suggestions. The only one I'd add is accessible parking spaces. As for whom to talk with, your village president or some other high-ranking city official might be your best bet.

[princess]

Uh, one I haven't seen yet that comes up a lot: the bottoms of door frames shouldn't be appreciably raised. If it's a "step" it can often be a hamper for a person with a mobility aid, even if it's just what mobile people think of as a little "lip."

[selkiechick]

There's lots of good stuff here. I wanted to add- seating at all bus stops, and occasional seating (can be in front of shops) along long blocks.
Shade is also an important thing to consider, as are good lights, both streetlights, and good lighting at doorways, and parking areas.