SII: The right to accessibility
The “Mark of Accessibility”
Because everyone has the right to a barrier-free society
By Nurit Holzinger
Standardization Division, Standards Institution of Israel
Most of the buildings, physical systems, devices and other aspects of day-to-day life in Israel were planned and function for the benefit of the majority of the population, without consideration of the special needs of people with disabilities.
People’s accessibility to their surroundings is the key to the true integration within society and to the equality of opportunity. Accessibility is a required condition of quality of life, and most importantly to people with disabilities, essential to participation in the activities offered by the society.
During the last years, along with a growing awareness of quality, the world has been undergoing an accessibility revolution. No longer does one speak of adapting a selected number of places to the special needs of people with disabilities, but rather about “integral accessibility.” Integral means that attention to the population of people with disabilities is an integral aspect of the service given, not an embellishment to it. Accessible service that is integrated, means that all who use that service can do so independently, safely and with dignity.
In the past it was usual to consider the measurements of the “average person” as the right measure for planning. Today, given that there is no such thing as an “average” person, and that every person deviates from the average in one way or another, architects and other planners have come to think in terms of “universal design” designing for all, rather than for a non-existent average.
In this spirit, recent Israeli legislative and standardization initiatives have promoted the concept of accessibility. The Standards Institution of Israel is preparing a five-part Israeli standard, Israel Standard Number 1918, that deals with accessibility to the built environment.
In December 1998 the first part of this series of accessibility standards was published. Two additional parts in the series were published in November 2001, and two more are in preparation.
Preparation of the standards is undertaken by a committee of experts - planners and disabilities specialists. The requirements of the standards are based on many foreign standards and other documents examined by the committee.
Within and around the building
The first part of the series, Israel Standard 1918, Part One – Accessibility to the Built Environment: Principles and general requirements, includes planning principles and requirements that serve as the basis for the detailed requirements that appear in other parts of the standard. The standard deals with planning accessibility in a new environment and adaptation of existing environment. It also determines requirements for spaces and accessible building elements such as width of the approach path, slopes of paths, accessible entrances, surfaces, and means of operation of public devices.
The measurements determined as requirements are based on “human measurements” and anthropometrics, on measurements of assistive devices used by people with disabilities and on the functional needs and requirements of people with different disabilities.
The second part of the series of standards, dealing with accessibility in the outdoors environment, determines the requirements that will enable access to buildings, and especially to their adjacent areas, and to public open spaces, such as parks, tourist sites, beaches, picnic areas and the like. The standard details requirements for outdoor access paths, outdoor ramps, exterior staircases, handrails, sidewalks and curbside ramps, pedestrian crosswalks, parking spots, public transportation terminals, park and street furniture. It ensures that these elements will not just serve people with disabilities but will not form barriers to access. The standard also deals with warning and tactile information systems for blind or visually impaired people so that they can identify their immediate environment in safety.
Part three of Israel Standard 1918 is in preparation and the draft is presently in discussion within the committee. This part deals with accessibility requirements within a building, including corridors, passageways, doors, elevators and other lifting devices, accessible washrooms and toilets, means of egress and refuge areas, work areas, counters and furniture.
An additional part, Israel Standard 1918 Part 4 – Accessibility to the Built Environment- Communications, was prepared with the help of a working group established by the experts committee. The working group additionally includes persons specialized in the treatment of people with various disabilities (sensory, developmental and physical) and an expert on signage.
To see, to hear and to sense
This part details requirements for the visual, aural and tactile means of communication that enable people with disabilities to obtain information, to identify their surroundings and to use the buildings, public spaces and services available to the public. It also defines the various disabilities, their characteristics and the needs that planners must consider when planning means of communication. These definitions are not equivalent to the medical or legal definitions of the disabilities, but rather characterize disabilities according to functional criteria to which planners must provide answers.
Signage and symbols, and in particular signage design, size, placement, means of affixing, and Braille and other tactile signs
- Warning and alarm systems that meet the needs of people who have hearing or sight impairments
- Assistive Listening Systems
- Public telephones accessible to people in wheelchairs and people with impaired hearing
- Tactile and visual warning systems
- Machines that provide information and service automatically
- Lighting as an aid to identification of surroundings, reading of signs, lip reading and safety
Completion of these accessibility standards will permit changes to be made in Israeli planning and building regulations, which will refer to the standards.
In this way the standards will become obligatory, their requirements securing a minimal, yet necessary quality of life for people with disabilities, and they will be anchored in law.
In parallel, the Standards Institution of Israel is establishing a Mark of Accessibility that will be granted to buildings and sites that meet the requirements of these standards.
We believe that Israeli society is marching towards a meaningful change in the area of accessibility. This change will influence the quality of our environment and the quality of our lives. Perhaps most important, it will help us accept each other as equals with identical rights in all aspects of our lives.
The Standards Institution of Israel
42 Chaim Levanon Street
IL-69977 Tel Aviv
Tel: 972 3 646 5154
Fax: 972 3 641 9683
www.sii.org.il