Handicap accessibility?

[RnROutlaw]

That was very well said Speed. It is about accessibility, unfortunately with anything in this world, it can be exploited (burger joint) and can be a pain in the ass sometimes (construction details and how exact they must be).

 

[Tfire25]

Great post speedly! I agree and it's very hard to be politically correct when standing on the side against people with disabilities.

Big sky, thanks for the info! How I have understood existing parks is that they are grandfathered in unless you rebuild them. I'm sure the rules will change once disc golf gains in popularity but right now it seems we are ok.

We built a handicap softball field about 10 years ago in frisco tx and it was a completly rubberized field. Pretty cool except when the non-handicapped kids played on it. The grounders would bounce off the rubber like missiles! I wouldn't want to be an infielder in that place even with 10 year olds.

 

[jasonc]

I'm not sure if there was any intent on behalf of the course designers to be ADA compliant, but North Shore Channel Trail DGC is a very flat course with an asphalt trail that runs the entire length of the park. I would recommend this course to anyone looking for a wheelchair-friendly disc golf course.

 

[chris deitzel]

I appreciate this topic because the local park just asked us if our course needs to be ADA accesible. We have been working on it for 2 years and there is no way to make it ADA accessible. Was curious what we should tell the park?

 

[prerube]

According to the U.S. Access Board website, if compliance with guidelines would "cause substantial harm to cultural, historic, religious, or significant natural features or characteristics" then the particular trail is exempt from the accessibility guidelines.

Current courses can claim undo hardship and not be required to change anything.

New courses can follow a few guidelines to try to stay ADA compliant:

-Fairway surfaces should be firm and stable.
- There should be 3 feet of clearance on the side of any obsticle in the fairway that protrudes from the ground
- If the fairway is 60 inches wide, there should be adequate passing room at least every 100 feet.
-The parking lot, kiosk, bathroom, proshop, and first tee should all be connected by clear paths. no less than 48 inches.

Also this is from the ADA rules for golf:

Practice Areas
When it comes to the driving range and putting green, the accessible area should equal one tee or 5 percent of the total tees, whichever number is largest

 

[Tfire25]

I appreciate this topic because the local park just asked us if our course needs to be ADA accesible. We have been working on it for 2 years and there is no way to make it ADA accessible. Was curious what we should tell the park?

There is always a way to make a course Ada acceptable if there is enough money. Elevators,bridges, lifts, miles and miles of concrete, like I said if money wasn't an option.

I just fear the impact of the Ada on our sport. If you ever played z-boaz hole 9, bicentennial holes 5 thru 10, bear creek hole 12, and pretty much all of veterans, they are all signature holes/courses of the dwf. Imagine not being able to get to play any new courses with this kind of elevation because of how much it would cost to construct to meet Ada standards.

 

[jgillia]

Without reading this entire thread I will say we have had two courses here in the Austin area that were affected by being handicap accessible. One course was completely shut down after only having baskets installed for a couple days. The other course had to go through several redesigns

Definitely the handicap accessibility isn't the norm but it is starting to affect some courses.

 

[prerube]

There is always a way to make a course Ada acceptable if there is enough money. Elevators,bridges, lifts, miles and miles of concrete, like I said if money wasn't an option.

I just fear the impact of the Ada on our sport. If you ever played z-boaz hole 9, bicentennial holes 5 thru 10, bear creek hole 12, and pretty much all of veterans, they are all signature holes/courses of the dwf. Imagine not being able to get to play any new courses with this kind of elevation because of how much it would cost to construct to meet Ada standards.

That is all covered under the hardship clause as well as the statement about it affecting natural scenery.

 

[MacDaddy]

Starting March, 2012 (already happened) all new golf courses and mini golf courses (and by extenson, disc golf courses) that are public (or allow public activity on their course) must comply with ADA. Teeing and greens areas must be accessible by a golf cart. Not ALL tees and greens may be required. If there are two tees, only the front one needs to comply. And if 3 tees, only two need comply. Essentially, there needs to be a path wide enough and gentle enough, that a golf cart can traverse it. And the entire course may need not be "compliant" to still be ok under the law. You could be ok with as few as three consecutive holes that gives the player the essential experience of the activity or sport.

I think that a lot of courses can meet this with little or no problem. It may take a bit of work for a smaller number of other courses.

I'm not a lawyer, just a disc golf course designer with 20 years of experience. I recently completed a course for a park that was specifically built to be ADA compliant and spent a lot of time reviewing the code. Check out the course here: http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=5553
:hfive:

 

[tarel]

Here is the deal. All parks funded by cities have to be made to meet handicap accessibility.

handicap bathroom and parking space meets those req.

 

[Mabuku1]

Maybe I just think of it differently than most because my mind is just so set on trying to make everything accommodating for the handicapped. Every sidewalk has to be poured with less than 2% crossways and less than 5% lengthways, anywhere a wheelchair can turn has to be 2%, and there has to be a 3 foot gap anywhere a wheelchair needs to gain access. I could go on foreverrrr. Heights of tables, hand dryers, and drinking fountains.

The other part of this is, if you have more than 1 water fountain only one has to be accessible. The same goes for bathrooms and pretty much everything else except sidewalks. So maybe it only has to be 1 hole? I could make a valid argument for this.

Scarpfish, now that they have a route to the other side you may be able to argue this point as well.

Then why are sidewalks littered with those death trap yellow bubbly skidplates at all driveways and crosswalks? It was safer without those.

 

[Greatzky]

Only things that are required to be ADA compliant under the ADA have to be..
so the parking lot, bathrooms,pavilions, etc would have to be ADA compliant, but not all the activities/structures would have to be.

 

[RnROutlaw]

Then why are sidewalks littered with those death trap yellow bubbly skidplates at all driveways and crosswalks? It was safer without those.

Those are for people with visual impairments who use a cane, without them, it can be a death trap for them. They're put there so that when there's a portion of a sidewalk that runs flush with the road/parking lot, they know that there's a threshold because they can't see. People who use a cane use it to find obstacles, curb cuts or anything they may have trouble seeing, so the change in texture helps them (for example) to stay on the sidewalk or stop for traffic. Otherwise, they might just walk into traffic because they think they're still on the sidewalk.

 

[Halcón]

Then why are sidewalks littered with those death trap yellow bubbly skidplates at all driveways and crosswalks? It was safer without those.

This is a case of making something better for one group, while making it worse for many others.

Those things are torture for many patients leaving any medical facility. Almost all of them have them now (at least that I've seen). When patients are in a wheelchair, in pain, every little bump hurts so much as they get dragged over those pads. Plus, they are a tripping hazard for the rest of us.

 

[MacDaddy]

This is a case of making something better for one group, while making it worse for many others. Plus, they are a tripping hazard for the rest of us.

Really?!? A trip hazard?! You must be taking some pretty small steps there..

 

[DonCasper]

^^^ I agree. I'm as clumsy as a duck with 2 left feet, and I still have never tripped on one of those. I've always felt that the added traction is nice when it is ice/wet so you don't slip into the street. I guess it doesn't snow too much in most of Cali though. Or rain if its socal.

That being said, those things really hurt to cross barefoot.

 

[Halcón]

Really?!? A trip hazard?! You must be taking some pretty small steps there..

Yea, I shuffle my feet. lol. No, but you should see the old folks with their walkers and canes having to walk over those darn bumps.

 

[Tfire25]

We don't put that kind in much. We like to groove the concrete when it's still wet with a trowel that has multiple protrusions on it. It kind of looks like the grooves on a boat ramp or before a stop sign for y'all in the north.

I got a chance to talk to an architect today about a rock wall we are building and right as I was asking about the Ada stuff I got pulled over by the commercial vehicle enforcement. Let's just say we don't drive that truck to often unless we move equipment and well.... it wasn't pretty. Maybe the disc golf gods don't want the question answered.