Chapter 5.1: Campus environment accessibility - Physical environment
5.1.1. Rationale
- Physical access to both academic buildings and non-academic buildings (e.g. amenities, hostels, sports facilities) is equally essential.
- Ensure comprehensive physical access to facilitate autonomous mobility and safety within and between buildings, as well as convenient manipulation for carrying out different activities, including but is not limited to:
- the entrances, e.g. ramps, door design;
- vertical circulation within the building, e.g. elevators, escalators, staircase;
- horizontal circulation within the same level, e.g. passage corridor width and clearance, door design;
- furniture, e.g. tables and chairs; and
- washrooms.
- Provide mainstream access wherever possible, instead of an access segregated from the mainstream route(s). However, when the provision of access at themainstream path is not feasible, alternative and accessible route(s) or enquiry contact should be provided and clearly indicated.
5.1.2. Mainstreaming the information of physical access
- Incorporate the physical access information into existing campus maps, including online interactive or printed campus maps and floor plans.
- Provide a point-to-point routing system (e.g. “path finder”) so that students and staff can look for accessible route(s) using interactive online systems.
- Avoid relying on colours to highlight different information. Make use of colour contrast simulator to ensure the materials are accessible for students with colour weakness or colour blindness.
- Provide concise text description along with the floor plan, photos, or videos with text description and voiceover showing the locations of the access facilities (e.g. elevators) and routes.
- Ensure the interactive maps are accessible or provide alternative formats.
- Include the information of the physical accessibility of the classrooms, lecture halls, auditoriums and university facilities in the public database (e.g., “Classroom Directory”) for users’ reference.
- Do not indicate the physical accessibility using abstract and simple description such as “This room is wheelchair-accessible”.
- Indicate the availability and details of the setting and different accessibility facilities, e.g. the availability, number, setting and location of accessible seats, lectern design, as well as the installation of assistive hearing loops.
- Show the setting of tables and chairs with floor plans.
5.1.3. Recommended roles of university students and staff
- Reporting system
- The University provides a reporting system for university members, e.g. through the university’s mobile application.
- The University encourages university members to report any inaccessibility issues on the campus.
- Units and stakeholders involved jointly work out solutions as early as possible.
- Advise student organizations not to block the access of facilities (e.g. the tactile guide path and curb cuts) when setting up temporary event booths.
- Announce as early as possible updates of any temporary blockage of facilities, particularly those accessible facilities such as elevators and automatic doors.
- Send the update to university members, especially staff and students with disabilities, through email contact list or instant messaging to ensure they are informed of any unexpected inaccessibility so that they can plan ahead.
- Provide alternative facility or path, and enquiry contact.
- Provide a 24-hour helpline, safety control office, or contact point during and outside office hours for enquiries on specific accessible facilities.
- Invite student volunteers to prepare the text description, photos and videos of physical access at the campus as an accessibility awareness training.
- Arrange staff and/or student helpers to orientate students with visual impairment and other students with disabilities who require routing orientation for few times as soon as possible using sight guide technique (領路法 in Chinese).
5.1.4. Essential design elements
- Entrances
- Curb cuts that allow smooth passage between the sidewalk and the street
- Ramps or level access at entrances
- Passage
- Clear passage to allow unobstructed mobility
- Passage wide enough to allow wheelchair users and other users to pass simultaneously
- Tactile guide paths
- Tactile map and Braille
- Tactile floor map with voiceover function
- Signages with Braille information
- Braille information of room number display
- Elevators and escalators
- Access to all levels open to users with elevators button panel at appropriate height (e.g. relative to wheelchair users)
- Audible and multilingual signal system at elevators and escalators
- Braille information at elevator button panels
- Staircase
- Presence of handrails
- Braille information at staircase handrails
- Tables, chairs, and lecterns
- Tables with adjustable height with clear leg space
- Detached and movable tables with clear leg space, usually accompanied by detached and movable chairs
- Benches with leg space and seats for wheelchair users in the open space on the campus. It is useful for group discussion and social networking.
- Height adjustable lecterns with leg space. The affiliated computer and audio-visual set-up should not be mounted on a fixed position on the lectern. Flexibility in adjusting the position of the computer set-up is allowed to facilitate manipulation and operation with assistive aids. Clear maneuvering space behind the lectern should be reserved for wheelchair users.
- Standing lecterns. It allows students to stand while in the classroom.
- Accessible seats in sports ground and swimming pool for wheelchair users
- Writing pads for left-handed students
- Locker
- Accessible locker location
- Larger locker space for some students with disabilities to store assistive study aids and/or personal aids
- Accessible washrooms
- Available in each floor in every building
- Emergency call bell
- Hearing loops in lecture theatres to assist students using hearing aids
- Portable wireless microphones
- Emergency alarm
- Smoke detectors with flashing lights, vibrating pads under the pillow in hostels and Deaf Alerter to alert deaf or hard of hearing users in case of danger and emergency evacuation.
- Evacuation chair for people with mobility disability
- Refer to Chapter 5.2 Emergency evacuation