Ferry Vessel Disabled Access: Case Study of Toilet Facilities

Passenger ferries have proliferated in recent years. The US Access Board, a Federal agency tasked with developing accessibility standards, is in the process of developing accessibility standards for passenger vessels. A milestone in this process was reached with the publication in November 2004 of the Draft Passenger Vessel Accessibility Guidelines and Supplementary Information for vessel accessibility (PVAG). This paper applies the PVAG accessibility criteria for toilet facilities to a sampling of existing ferry vessels, and assesses and demonstrates the feasibility of incorporating those criteria to a range of ferry vessel designs. The paper concludes that with roughly 10 additional square feet per toilet space, (one passenger unit of deck space, and about a third more deck space than the existing toilet rooms) the existing toilet spaces could probably have been designed to satisfy the PVAG criteria for door clear opening and maneuvering space, wheelchair turning space, and fixture clearances, critical elements for getting in and out of and being able to use toilet room facilities. The paper provides insights on the design challenges of ferry and similar passenger vessel accessibility. The purpose of the paper is to inform marine designers and vessel operators of responsibilities for and opportunities to provide accessible toilet spaces on ferry vessels.

• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Chapman, David Scott
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 85th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2006-1-22 to 2006-1-26
• Date: 2006

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: CD-ROM
• Features: Figures; Tables;
• Pagination: 21p
• Monograph Title: TRB 85th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers CD-ROM

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Accessibility; Barrier free design; Ferries; Passenger ships; Persons with disabilities; Toilet facilities
• Identifier Terms: ADA Accessibility Guidelines
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Marine Transportation; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01025656
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 06-1349
• Files: BTRIS, TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Jun 8 2006 11:26AM