Accessibility Situation of Pedestrian Environment Buildings in College Campus from Manual Wheelchair Users’ Perspective and Accessibility Map Development : Focused on a Case of University-C

Abstract

This study was aimed to assess accessibility situation of pedestrian environment of University-C focusing on accessibility of manual wheelchair users and to develop accessibility campus map. During March and April 2016, barrierfree design application situation of pedestrian environment and building entrances were investigated using a structured checklist and a digital distance and slope meter. Major findings are as follow. (1) Except one case, widths of all pedestrian routes (both sidewalk and non-sidewalk routes) exceeded 2 meters. (2) As for sidewalk and driveway contact point condition, there were many spots lacking curb ramp or alterative ramp that are accessible for manual wheelchair users. (3) More than half of non-sidewalk pedestrian routes did not have bollard to separate pedestrian and vehicle flows, and more than 92% of the bollards installed were too close for wheelchair users to pass or too far to prevent vehicle access. (4) More than 59 percent of the building entrances were found impossible for manual wheelchair users to access without any assistance, and one third of the buildings did not have any single accessible entrance. Based on the study findings, campus accessibility map was developed by the researchers and disseminated through university homepage. Using the campus accessibility map, users can plan their accessible paths ahead the trip.