Environment: Getting Into Church
Parking Lots
- Parking areas should be well-lit, uneven surfaces
should be avoided, and other tripping hazards (such as poorly
illuminated low-edging around parking lot plantings) should be
eliminated.
- Parking lots should be as flat and even
as possible (not on a hill or grade).
- There are federal guidelines for accessible parking
spaces. Sometimes, there are stricter local rules – you
will want to follow your local rules. Check with your local Planning
and Zoning Commission.
- You may find that there may be more people with limited
mobility than there are accessible parking spaces. Consider
valet parking as a possible solution.
- As you plan accessible parking spaces, make sure
that people getting out of their cars and vans do not have to
cross a place where cars drive. A person should not have
to contend with traffic to get from the car/van to the curb cut
that brings them to a sidewalk.
- Refer to Accessible Faith: A Technical Guide in Houses of Worship (page 10)
 for additional information
Sidewalks
- You have your accessible parking spaces clearly
marked. Make sure to provide plentiful signs with arrows
along pathways, so people can easily locate the accessible path
and entrance. You are proud of your accessibility work – mark it clearly with universal accessibility signage.
- Provide adequate lighting between parking areas
and entrances. Many people do not see well at night.
- You know how helpful the white stripe at the edge of
a highway is when we drive at night? A stripe of white paint
along the edge of the sidewalk does the same thing – it can help us delineate the path at night.
- Keep in mind that people who have balance or walking
difficulties, or who use crutches, canes, or walkers, are particularly
sensitive to slipping and tripping hazards. Check for uneven
sidewalks.
- As well as clearing the pathway of ice and snow, keep
the surface free from tree fruits/seeds, twigs, dead leaves and
other debris.
- Even if the distance between parking lot and the building
seems flat and reasonable in length, keep in mind that it may
be a tiring journey for someone who has poor stamina. Taking
climate and your property into account, provide benches or other
seating to rest on along the way.
- Refer to Accessible Faith: A Technical Guide in Houses of Worship (page 11) for
additional information.
Outdoor Entrances
- Use professionals to plan your ramp. Amateurs
can make mistakes, such as (these are comments from UU churches):
If you build a concrete ramp against a wooden building, the wood
will rot. If you build a ramp in warm weather, without paying
attention to the way the roof slants, come winter, you may have
snow avalanching onto the ramp.
- Ramp consultations are available through many Independent Living
Centers
 .
- We've heard many stories about how the week after the
ramp was completed, a board member sustained an injury and needed
to use the ramp for the two months she was using a wheelchair.
- We've also heard stories about how pleased parents were
to find easy ramp access to the building without having to take
their babies and toddlers out of their strollers.
- While the 1:12 ramp (1 inch rise per 12 inches of run
(horizontal distance)) is fairly standard, and there are 1:10
ramp requirements in existing buildings, these are steep ramps.
The closer to 1:20 your ramp is, the easier it is to navigate
for people using walkers and manual wheelchairs.
- Check out the temporary ramps built by the Minnesota
Ramp Project .
It might be just the thing for you to do as a temporary measure.
According to the Minnesota Project Director, although meant to
be residential, this ramp-building method has been used by churches.
It might also be a volunteer project to undertake for a congregant's
home.
- Automatic door openers are not that expensive
and may be the answer to your accessibility need.
- Many older churches have heavy doors, some of which also
have handles that are difficult to open. You may find your ramp
ends at a door that is unopenable by some people. If you cannot
replace your outer doors to meet ADA standards, then have a greeter
stationed to open the door for people. Always having greeters
at every door is important, especially if the accessible entrance
is in back or on the side.
- Refer to Accessible Faith: A Technical Guide in Houses of Worship (page 11-14) for additional information about ramps and railings.
Hints about how people can be welcoming at the building
entrance
- Do not park in an accessible parking space if you
do not have a disabled parking tag or license plate – not even when the parking lot is full and the only available space
is an accessible space.
- Part of a congregation's accessibility journey is to understand and respect the use of accessible parking spaces. Invite a person from your local Independent
Living Center to be part of a service, meeting, or workshop about accessible
parking, accessible transportation and other community issues.
- Everybody should wear name-tags printed in large,
legible letters. Congregants with memory problems often drop
out because they cannot remember the names of people they know
and are embarrassed. Name tags solve that problem and can be worn
for every occasion, until they become part of a congregation's
culture.
- Lack of knowledge about how to act can lead to uneasiness
when meeting a person who has a disability. An understanding
of "disability etiquette" will dispel discomfort for greeters and ushers,
and this understanding should be communicated as part of greeter
and usher training.
›› Take the Accessbility Audit for: Getting into Church
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