Community facilities are social amenities used for the general population’s welfare. They can be offered by public, private, and nonprofitable organizations. The facilities provide various services that are of salience to community members. They include healthcare, leisure, education, social care, transport, and heritage assets such as gardens and parks (Calder et al., 2018). Community facilities play a significant role in ensuring the vitality and sustainability of the community and its neighbourhood. Therefore, establishing public facilities requires an overarching strategy that will ensure they are located, designed, equipped, and funded equitably. This aims to guarantee that all local and special groups in society, such as the disabled, benefit.
The agency under exploration is my apartment complex offices and its main entrances into the buildings. The facility provides various public services as it as several community services. The apartment buildings offer rooms for residential leasing and living for the public. This facility is meant to serve the whole society, and it is open to all who want to use it. However, the facility has no site arrival point routes that do not require the use of a staircase. The facility has a well-developed underground parking lot for persons arriving in motor vehicles. It has a total space of about 76-100, and four of them are accessible at a particular time. Of all the accessible spaces in this facility, some spaces are adequate for bigger vehicles such as vans.
Our parking spaces measure approximately 9 feet wide, and the width of the access aisle is five feet. However, in most cases, the access aisle is shared by two spaces. For parking spaces used by vans, their widths are eight feet, and the entrances have a vertical clearance of 98 inches. Access through the parking space has no ramps, but it has firm, stable, and slip-resistant slopes that can serve those who have difficulties using the stairs. The main challenge for my apartment complex office is that it does not have an accessible main entrance. The buildings lack alternative access points, and there are no signs or symbols that can guide someone to a particular room. The building has elevators and lifts that aid in moving from room to room. Our LULA elevator is full size with call buttons located less than 54 inches above the ground. These elevators have car control buttons that are made of raised characters. However, they are not designated with braille, making it challenging for people who cannot see them. All the floors of the apartments can be accessed by use of the lift. People using wheelchairs will require assistance from others when using the life as the floor space is inadequate, and they cannot reach the control buttons.
Access to rooms is easy as the built doors are well made with the adequate hardware equipment. The handles can be operated by one hand as they do not require tight grasping, pinching, or wrist twisting. The door handles are located approximately 40 inches above the floor. The walk paths in the complex used in accessing different stores, offices, and rooms are well constructed, with a width of more than 36 inches. My apartment has adequate space for wheelchairs, and they are equivalently located to allow easy viewing angles. When people must remain to stand, the rooms are not designed to allow a clear line of sight for those using wheelchairs. There is no unobstructed parallel approach access to the shelves for self-service activities. This poses a major challenge for people with disabilities, especially those using wheelchairs, as the shelves are also about 50 inches high.
The buildings are well served, with restrooms and washrooms on each floor. They are accessible to all, and for those inaccessible, they can be labeled to guide people. They, however, do not meet the required global standards as they do not have international accessible signs. For each toilet, there are access routes and, on the doors, there are images and characters for distinction, especially between those meant for the female and males. However, visually impaired people cannot use them as they are not braille, and the characters used are not raised. The toilet doors are made of stable hardware that can be operated by a single hand. These doors, however, cannot lock themselves automatically without physical intervention. Each toilet is well supplied with water, dispensers for flashing, and hand hygiene.
The buildings have drinking fountains measuring approximately 48 by 30 inches with clear floor space. The fountains are well-positioned at about 40 inches above the ground, making them accessible to people in wheelchairs. Their positioning, however, cannot be used while standing as they are lower and close to the ground. People have to use an individual cellphone to make calls as there are no telephone services in the apartment.
These apartment buildings are used to serve the whole population in society. Regardless of their health and physical status, all persons should have easy access. Therefore, this makes it necessary for readjustments in the complex to allow equitable use. The parking space should be reconfigured and an allowance made for vans of all sizes. Aisles in the spaces should not be shared; they should be reconstructed and used by one space. The paintings should be redone to allow for a clear demarcation between a parking space and the access aisle. Ramps, elevators, and an adequately sized lift should be constructed in the building (Carlsson et al., 2021). This will make it easy for people who are physically impaired and those using wheelchairs to access all services with ease.
Accessibility to a public facility is of paramount salience. The complex buildings should therefore redesign to make them easily accessible. The main entrance should be designated with full-time access. An access route to the main entrance should be constructed and each of them to have guiding signs installed to direct people and minimize incidents of people following the wrong path (Carlsson et al., 2021). All doors used in accessing service bays, restrooms, and washrooms should be automated. A braille system and raised characters in the structure are essential in helping the blind. In halls and arenas where people are expected to stand, the sightline should be altered to allow those using wheelchairs to have a clear viewpoint.
In conclusion, a community facility is purposefully established to serve the whole population. Services offered include education, entertainment, health, and recreational activities. Each facility should be accessible to all regardless of their physical status. The interest of special groups such as those with various impairments should be catered for. A public facility should have an accessible main entrance that is always accessible. Main routes to the place need to have signs that guide individuals to prevent them from getting lost. Special equipment such as elevators, lifts, and braille systems should be easy for the physically and visually impaired.
References
Calder, A., Sole, G., & Mulligan, H. (2018). The accessibility of fitness centers for people with disabilities: a systematic review. Disability and Health Journal, 11(4), 525-536.
Carlsson, G., Slaug, B., Schmidt, S. M., Norin, L., Ronchi, E., & Gefenaite, G. (2021). A scoping review of public building accessibility. Disability and Health Journal, 101227.