Gardens and Outdoor Spaces

When planning your gardens and outdoor spaces to be more accessible for visitors, consider these overall tips:

• Identify meaningful areas: Determine areas of your outdoor space or garden that have the most significance, such as specific plant collections, areas providing iconic views, outdoor sculptures, or historical features that should be accessible to all visitors.
• Evaluate path width and surface quality: Assess whether existing pathways are wide enough for two mobility devices (wheelchairs, scooters) to pass without obstruction, and whether path surfaces are stable, firm, slip-resistant, and free from hazards like loose gravel, uneven patches, or surfaces that could become slippery in rain or snow.
• Prioritize pathways: Assess whether your current pathway network allows access to the most meaningful areas and prioritize them based on usage, from the most heavily traveled to the least.
• Engage experts: Work closely with accessibility experts, user/experts, and members of the disability community to evaluate your existing accessibility and determine improvements that are grounded in the needs and preferences of the community.
• Identify key fixed features: Identify the fixed features, historic elements, or built environments that do not change with the season and prioritize accessibility and alternative formats.
• Determine alternatives: When physical site improvements are not possible or need time for implementation, work with experts to determine alternatives such as providing virtual programs, photographic displays, audio tours or descriptive written materials.

Making sure that outdoor pathway surfaces are safe and navigable is an essential part of creating accessible gathering spaces. Some tips include:

• Ensure that trail surfaces meet accessibility standards: Several considerations are listed below.
  • Firm, stable, and slip-resistant: Pathways should be solid and free from loose or uneven materials (see below for material options).
  • Running slope: Should be no steeper than 5% (1:20 ratio), or 8.33% (1:12 ratio) with handrails on both sides if steeper.
  • Cross slope: Should be no greater than 2% to maintain stability and ease of use.
  • Change in level : No changes greater than ½ inch. Anything higher needs ramps or smooth transitions.
  • Openings: Gaps or grating should not exceed ½ inch to prevent tripping or damage to mobility devices.
• Determine which surface materials to use: Consider specific circumstances when selecting surface materials. Prioritize permeable options that blend with the natural environment and offer some give, and avoid using grass or loose compact gravel. Below is a list of commonly used surface materials, along with their pros and cons:
  • Concrete: Durable, long-lasting, low-maintenance, and easy to clear of snow. However, it can be unattractive, installation is labor-intensive, and it is non-permeable.
  • Exposed aggregate concrete: Durable, long-lasting, and low-maintenance. However, it is more attractive than regular concrete but can be damaged by ice melt material, and it is still non-permeable.
  • Asphalt: Affordable, durable, and long-lasting. However, it is unattractive, requires special equipment for installation, and is non-permeable.
  • Permeable asphalt: Durable and long-lasting. However, it is unattractive and requires specialized equipment for installation.
  • Crushed stone/stone dust: Inexpensive with a natural look. However, it has long-term maintenance issues, can wash out, and snow removal is difficult.
  • Decomposed granite: More stable and permeable than crushed stone. However, it is expensive, requires special equipment for installation, and is not suitable for slopes.
  • Resin bound stone: Offers a natural stone look, is durable, and permeable. However, it is expensive and requires specialized installation.
  • Interlocking concrete pavers: Durable, long-lasting, and available in many colors and patterns. However, they are non-permeable and can shift over time.
  • Flagstone (dry laid): Natural, attractive, and permeable. However, it is expensive and vulnerable to damage from ice melt materials.
  • Flagstone (mortared): Natural and attractive. However, it is expensive and susceptible to damage from ice melt materials.
  • Mortared stone: Natural and attractive. However, it is expensive and vulnerable to damage from ice melt materials.

It is important to design your outdoor spaces to have clear accessible routes for visitors with physical disabilities. Some tips include:

• Provide an accessible route: Ensure there is at least one continuous accessible route connecting all accessible buildings and facilities, spaces, and elements of your site (exemption for spaces separated by a vehicular way without pedestrian access). Accessible routes must coincide with or be located in the same area as general circulation paths. Where circulation paths enter an interior space or feature, it is required that the continued route indoors maintain consistent access.
• Install curb ramps: Ensure that all transitions between roads, parking lots, and pathways are smooth, with properly designed curb ramps.
• Ensure safe navigation for blind and low-vision visitors: Use detectable edges for path drop-offs, especially near water features. Install truncated domes at potential hazards (e.g., water features, vehicular areas, or slopes) to alert blind and low vision visitors. Ensure there are no protruding objects in circulation paths, with 80-inch clearance overhead.

Physical navigability is not the only form of accessibility. Sensory and cognitive considerations also include:

• Activate the senses: Engage all the senses — balance, sound, smell, taste, touch, sight, and movement. Consider how each of these can be activated in your outdoor space to cater to visitors, particularly people with sensory and cognitive disabilities.
• Consider assistive technology: Incorporate assistive listening devices, microphones, or audio tours, particularly for individuals who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing or who have sensory processing difficulties.
• Provide tactile orientation: Make sure tactile features, such as braille, raised patterns, or textured surfaces, are included in maps, signage, and other wayfinding elements to assist blind and low vision visitors in navigating the space.
• Audio description/audio tours: Create audio tours for people who are blind or have low vision who prefer to navigate through voice. Pay attention to seasonal outdoor sounds that can be heard in certain places, as well as sounds that help orient people in the right direction. For example: “Keeping the traffic sounds to your right, the path follows a straight twenty feet ahead until you reach a raised flower bed.”

You can make your garden and outdoor spaces more peaceful and comfortable for visitors through a number of thoughtful access features. Suggestions include:

• Provide seating areas and benches: Provide ample outdoor seating and rest areas. Offer rest benches with supportive backs and armrests, with clear space of at least 36” x 48” next to seating to accommodate wheelchair users comfortably.
• Provide accessible water fountains: Include at least one accessible water fountain designed to be used by both seated and standing individuals.
• Provide shaded areas: Offer shaded areas where visitors can find shelter from direct sunlight, high temperatures, or the elements, and offer seating and water in these areas.
• Indicate the nearest accessible restroom: Ensure the nearest accessible restrooms are clearly marked from outdoor areas and on maps.

Finally, your outdoor spaces should have effective wayfinding and information systems to help visitors with navigation and decision-making. Consider these best practices:

• Use clear, legible signage: Ensure that all directional signs are easy to read, with large, high-contrast text and universally recognizable icons to guide visitors. Ensure foliage does not obstruct signage.
• Provide wayfinding materials on site: Offer printed and tactile maps highlighting key areas and accessible features, as well as paths of travel. Ensure that universal access symbols are used where appropriate (e.g., to indicate accessible restrooms or parking).
• Offer “Know Before You Go” information: Provide online resources, brochures, or maps with clear descriptions of accessible features, pathways, parking, restrooms, and rest areas so that visitors can plan their visit ahead of time.