Great Outdoors – A guide for accessibility considers how information and communication can be made more accessible to everyone regardless of ability or disability.
Well-designed, detailed and accurate information about the accessibility of any site and its facilities and available amenities should be presented in various formats in order to be accessible to everyone including people with disabilities. Consider developing an accessible information policy within your organisation along with procedures to highlight the organisation’s commitment to communicating effectively with everyone. Promotional literature should make it clear that people with disabilities are welcome and can participate in the on-site activities. The use of photographs can be most helpful in highlighting a welcoming approach.
The various formats through which information should be presented include:
Hearing loss communication points
The internet, including websites, e-mail and social media Brochures and information leaflets that are available in Easy to Read, Plain English versions and Braille on request. Clearly display all available options. Keep written communications brief and to the point. Face-to-Face interaction using clear, simple user-focused language. An Induction Loop System which aids people who have a hearing loss should be provided at communication points. The appropriate symbol indicating the presence of a Loop System to be displayed. Audio Packs where appropriate. The availability of Audio Packs should be clearly displayed on-site and in any written material. By phone including the use of text messaging where appropriate. The availability of a text messaging option should be clearly displayed on-site and in any written material. Information Display Boards that are easy to read will orientate the visitor to on-site facilities. Waymarking for all routes should incorporate a wayfinding system that is clearly sign-posted and visible.
Ensure relevant staff know how to source information in alternative formats e.g. Braille versions on request (enquire with National Council for the Blind
http://www.ncbi.ie http://www.deafhear.ie http://www.nala.ie http://www.inclusionireland.ie
Websites and mobile apps offer a valuable opportunity for service providers to showcase their facilities and to offer clients and service users essential information to pre-plan their visit. It is essential that the website design and online format used by a service provider is easily accessible to everyone. A well planned and managed website can support people with a disability to actively plan and participate in activities and programmes within the great outdoors.
The following design criteria need to be considered in order to make online information easily accessible to everyone;
Ensure the text on the website can be increased in size and that the colour contrast on the site can be altered to suit the user’s requirement. In the case of mobile apps, ensure that the app is compatible with phone accessibility integrations that allow text size increase and other features such as colour contrast and element focus. Ensure that the website is compatible with screen reader technology. Ensure the website/app is easy to navigate. Provide a clearly identifiable section on the website or app that hosts all accessibility related information regarding the site location, the facilities and amenities available as well as information on travel options to reach the site location. Use clear, simple, user-focused language that is commonly used in face-to-face conversation. Promote the various alternative formats through which information is available, e.g. information leaflets and brochures that are available in easy to read and simple english versions, Braille and audio, and the opportunity to use text and e-mail. In order to ensure effective communication and information delivery, publicise various ways your clients/service users/customers can give feedback. Consult with clients/service users/customers/visitors to ensure that information provision is suitable to their requirements. Provide contact details for your dedicated Access or Disability Liaison Officer.
Use:
Website Accessibility
Various internationally recognised symbols can be used to promote and publicise the accessibility features of sites, programmes and activities. These symbols can demonstrate the removal of environmental barriers or the provision of specific accessible features to indicate that an environment is easily accessible and usable by a wide variety of people regardless of age or ability. These guidelines propose the use of the following symbols shown on pages 33 and 34 and also on page 47 to identify accessible routes/trails, amenities and accessible on-site facilities.
The symbols should only be used where routes/trails, amenities and on-site facilities provide access to people with disabilities.
“Accurate and honest access information on websites is very necessary”
– Quote from National Online Survey 2017
Recommended Symbol for Access.
This symbol should be used to indicate and direct people to the following facilities;
Accessible car parking bays.
Accessible pick up and set down points.
Accessible sites and facilities.
Accessible entrances that are not primary entrances.
Accessible toilets/WCs.
This symbol should be used to highlight specific facilities or services that are available for people with a hearing loss:
Presence of an Induction Loop System (fixed or portable types).
Presence of audio facility in an information display board.
Sign language interpreter available on request.
Lip speak service and/or sign language provided or available on request.
This symbol should be used to highlight specific facilities or services that are available for people with vision impairments:
Braille information available on request.
Audio information available on request.
Guide dogs permitted.
Be aware of the following considerations when speaking with a person who has a disability:
Relax and take time – people with disabilities are just people. Make and maintain eye contact.
Always speak directly to the person with a disability. If the person is accompanied by another individual always direct your conversation to the person who has a disability, including when the accompanying person speaks on behalf of the person who has a disability. Do not make assumptions about a person’s abilities, preferences, expectations or wishes. Ask if the person requires assistance and in what way. Respect and comply, where possible, with the person’s expressed wishes and expectations. Do not make assumptions about a person’s disability or what a person can or can’t do. Ask before you offer assistance and respect a person’s right to refuse your help. Take the time to listen to people with a disability. If you can’t understand what a person is saying don’t pretend that you can – just listen carefully and try to understand. Politely ask the person to repeat him/herself if required.
Interaction and Communication
National Guidelines on Accessible Health and Social Care Services (HSE)
https://www.hse.ie/eng/services/yourhealthservice/access/NatGuideAccessibleServices/part1.html
Provide Disability Equality Training to Staff Guidelines (National Disability Authority)
http://nda.ie/Resources/Accessibility-toolkit/Provide-disability-equality-training-to-staff/
Customer Communications Toolkit for the Public Service – A Universal Design Approach (National Disability Authority Centre for Excellence in Universal Design)
http://publicservice.universaldesign.ie/media/NDA_Universal_Design_Public_Service_Toolkit.pdf
Making Communication Accessible for All – A Guide for Health and Social Care Staff (Inclusion Ireland) http://www.inclusionireland.ie/sites/default/files/attach/event-notice/1527/making-communication-accessible-all.pdf
Information Display Boards are essential elements in providing adequate information to direct people towards and along trails and routes. Information Display Boards provide a visitor with information on facilities available, the use of any waymarking system, features of interest or to give warnings about hazards along routes. The readability of the information displayed is of the utmost importance and this can often be determined by text font size, text spacing and colour contrast.
Provide optional audio link via headphones, consider providing pre-recorded audio tours and guided group tours on request.
Text size used on Information Display Boards needs to be sufficiently large to be easily read and positioned correctly to be clearly legible. Choose standard sans-serif typeface e.g. Times New Roman, Ariel, Verdana. Characters on all signs should be raised by 1.5mm. Avoid use of capitals in continuous text. A mixture of both capital and lower case letters that are aligned to the left is recommended. Text and symbols should be consistent in design. Average line of text should be of 40 – 65 characters. Layout of text should be clear and simple, leaving space between paragraphs. Use text colour that will provide a strong contrast with the background colour, white lettering on a dark background gives good legibility. Do not print text over photographs or patterns .
Locate the most relevant information within the mid-section of the Information Display Board .
Information Display Boards that are to be read from a relatively short distance should be sited with the centreline of the sign located at 1400-1600mm from the ground level to suit people with a range of eye levels. Ensure there is space beneath the Information Display Board, minimum 400mm high from ground level, whereby the footplates on a wheelchair user’s chair can go beneath the board to facilitate a person to get closer in order to read the text on the Information Display Board. Provide a tipping/guard rail on the ground beneath the Information Display Board to alert people with a vision impairment, who are using a mobility cane, of the presence of the display board. Signs that are projected or suspended must be positioned at a height to allow for a 2300mm clearance from ground level.
The larger the size of the font, the further away people can read it. See table below which indicates the size of font that is recommended for specific viewing distances:
Size 20 Font Can be read from 1.2 metres distance
Size 48 Font Can be read from 1.5 metres distance
Size 60 Font Can be read from 1.8 metres distance
Size 200 Font Can be read from 9 metres distance
Size 320 Font Can be read from 18 metres distance
The colouring and contrast of printed material and backgrounds on Information Display Boards and on Information Leaflets/Brochures is a significant factor in making signs and brochures visible and legible.
When using colour it is better to have a dark text on a light background for increased visibility.
For external signs, the colour of the sign should contrast with the landscape while the text should contrast with the board.
White as a background colour for outdoor signs may cause a shine in the bright light. A sign having a matte finish can help to eliminate this problem.
Where colours are not high contrasting, the larger the letters and spacing of words the more readable and user-friendly the information.
Any text displayed over a background containing several different colours/tones will be difficult to read and therefore not recommended.
If colour coding is used on trails to guide visitors all colours should contrast strongly with each other to support those who are colour blind.
The most common colours that people with colour blindness can confuse are red/yellow/green, red/black and blue/green/purple.
The table below gives information on appropriate colour schemes to use when displaying information via brochures and Information Display Boards. Poor colour combinations are also identified;
Recommended colour combinations:
Poor colour combinations:
Black on White Yellow on Orange
Dark Blue on White Yellow on Grey
Black on Yellow Yellow on White
Dark Green on White Blue on Green
White on Red Black on Violet
For the location of Information Display Boards to be fully accessible the following criteria need to be considered:
Position . Where possible ensure that the Information Display Board is reachable and readable from a sitting or standing position. Information Display Board needs to be set back from the main trail and should not compromise the trail width. Physical accessibility is essential for people who use a wheelchair as well as for people with vision impairments who may need to get up close to read or touch the sign. Signs that are to be read from a short distance should be sited with the centreline of the sign located at 1400mm from ground level. Safety Instruction Signage, which requires reading detailed instructions, should be duplicated at 1000mm -1100mm and 1600mm-1700mm to suit people at a range of eye levels. Ground Surface . The ground surface around the sign should be level and well maintained to allow access to wheelchair users. Where possible, incorporate signs with shelter and resting points at the side of all main tracks and trails. Lighting
Place signs and information points within the accessible cone of vision. See recommendations in the following table:
Viewing Distance
Lowest Point
Highest Point
1000mm (1m)
800mm
1850mm
2000mm (2m)
700mm
2150mm
3000mm (3m)
650mm
2400mm
Avoid placing signs where they might obstruct features of interest.
Keep the number of signs to a minimum, i.e. at car parking areas, at the beginning of routes and trails, to indicate route options along trails and where any hazards may be located. Signs must be clear and should be consistent in placement, with contrast and colour so that visitors can easily recognise them in all situations. Provide a tipping/guard rail on the ground beneath the Information Display Board to alert people with a vision impairment, who are using a mobility cane, of the presence of the Information Display Board. Test any proposed product with real users. During development, test the prototype in a realistic situation with real people, particularly people who routinely use wheelchairs, walking frames and canes and people with hearing loss or a visual impairment.
Example of Accessible Waymarking Provide concise and important information for people following routes and trails. These guidelines recommend the use of Information Display Boards and internationally recognised accessibility symbols as part of the waymarking design systems to make people aware of accessible routes at the start of and along the route/trail.
Keep waymarking as simple as possible. Include pictorial signage where possible. At the start of each route include, on a post/sign that is clearly visible, information regarding the destination: distance; the access level of the route indicated by the appropriate access symbol(s); route duration and resting & viewing points etc. This information allows people to make an informed choice regarding the route to follow. Along routes avoid using multiple arrows on one post, as this can lead to confusion for people.
All junctions should be waymarked. All routes should be waymarked from both directions so that people can retrace their steps. Arrows indicating straight ahead should be placed pointing in the direction of travel on the side of the post facing the approaching trail user.
Touchmapper was created in Finland. The idea behind this mapping system is that people who require a tactile map can create custom 3D outdoor tactile maps of the address or area of their choice based on freely available map data.
People can then either order an affordable 3D printed version of the map or download the files to 3D print for themselves. http://touch-mapper.org/en/
Tactile Map for people with a vision impairments
These tactile maps are created with the user in mind and are optimised to be as easy to use as possible, regardless of the person’s experience or skill-level with Braille. For further details please see the following link: https://touch-mapper.org/en/
Audio and Guided Tours . Consider providing pre-recorded
audio tours and guided group tours on request.
