Why You Should Add Wide Landings To Your Handicap Accessibility Ramp
There are numerous design features that can make a handicap accessibility ramp easy and convenient for people in wheelchairs to use. Adding this style of ramp at the front of your business sends a clear message that you welcome those who require the use of wheelchairs, especially if you've added several user-friendly features. When you're deciding how the ramp should look, there are several different features to think about. If it's clear that you'll need a ramp that approaches your door in a zig-zag manner, one detail that you can overlook is adding a wide horizontal landing each time there's a direction change in the ramp. Here are some reasons that landings are valuable.
Room To Allow People To Pass
It may take someone in a wheelchair a few minutes to get from the bottom of the ramp to the door of your business, and you don't want to inconvenience other customers during this time. While your other customers can take the stairs if they want to get past someone who is using a wheelchair on the ramp, many people will prefer using the ramp. The addition of a landing each time the ramp changes direction will allow the person on foot to easily slip past the person in the wheelchair, rather than being stuck behind him or her — potentially causing stress to them both.
A Place To Rest
If your ramp is long, it can be a physically demanding process for someone in a wheelchair to travel all the way up. Such an individual may occasionally wish to take a break for a moment, perhaps to catch his or her breath or give his or her shoulders and arms a break. When you have a ramp with wide landings, users can pull over and rest without worrying about rolling down the ramp.
Space To Turn Around
There may be times that someone in a wheelchair decides to turn around on the way up your ramp. For example, what if an individual were to arrive at your business shortly after you've closed for the day without seeing the "Closed" sign from the parking lot. If this individual notices the sign while he or she is partway up the ramp, he or she can travel to the next wide landing, turn around, and then descend. Without the landing, it might be difficult for an individual in a wheelchair to turn 180 degrees in a safe and controlled manner.
Speak to a handicap accessibility ramp installation company to learn more about the value of adding landings.
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