BP 344  Straight forward routes with right angle

turns should be observed for the blind

BATAS PAMBANSA BLG. 344
 Regular maintenance of the plantings
AN ACT TO ENHANCE THE MOBILITY OF DISABLED adjacent to the walkway is needed to
PERSONS BY REQUIRING CERTAIN BUILDINGS; avoid overgrowth and obstruction
INSTITUTIONS, ESTABLISHMENTS, AND PUBLIC  Walkway headroom shall not be less than
UTILITIES TO INSTALL FACILITIES AND OTHER 2 meters
DEVICES.  Passageway for the disabled should not be
obstructed by furniture, bollards, etc
Any person violating any provision of this Act or of the
rules and regulations promulgated hereunder shall, upon HANDRAILS
conviction by a court of competent jurisdiction, suffer the
penalty of imprisonment of not less than one month
but not more than one year or a fine of P2,000 to  Handrails should be installed at both sides
P5,000 or both, at the discretion of the court: of ramps and stairs and at the outer
edges of dropped curbs at crossings
 Shall be installed at 900mm and 700mm
above steps or ramps (Height at 1 or
1.06 meters if for protection at great
A. OUTSIDE AND AROUND BUILDINGS heights)

DROPPED CURBS  300mm long extension of handrail should

be provided at start and end of ramps
 Dropped curbs should be provided at and
walkways with changes in elevations stairs
 Should be provided at pedestrian  Hand grips should be 30 to 50mm wide
crossings and at end of footpaths  If attached to walls or ledges it should
 Should be as wide as the crossing or have a minimum clearance of 50mm
should be 900mm wide at minimum from the wall or 40mm from the ledge

 Shall be ramped towards adjoining curbs OPEN SPACES

with a gradient not more than 1:12
 Shall be sloped towards the road with a • Where open spaces are provided, give
maximum cross gradient of 1:20 walkways defined edges either by the use of
 The lowest point of the curb should not planters with dwarf walls, grass verge or similar
exceed 25mm height above the which provides a texture different from the path.
road/gutter This helps the blind to determine the pathway.

CURB CUT-OUTS SIGNAGE

 Curb cut-outs should only be allowed  Directional and informational sign should
when it will not obstruct or lessen the be located at points conveniently seen
width of a walkway even by a person on a wheelchair
 Minimum width should be 900mm  Should be kept simple and easy to
 Should have a gradient not more than understand, should be made of
1:12 contrasting colors and gray values to
make detection and reading easy
WALKWAYS

 Walkways should be kept as level as

possible and provided with slip-resistant A. B. C. D. E.
material Access Phone Elevator Parking Ramp
 Minimum width is at 1200mm Symbol
 Should have a gradient no more than 1:20 SIGN SIZE (CM) USAGE
A 10x10 Toilets, stall
or 5% (1:100 max cross gradient) doors
ABCD 15x15 With or
 Should not have abrupt pitches in angle or without
directional
interruptions by cracks that create
arrows
edges above 6.5mm ABC 22x22 With or
 Grating openings at walkways should have without
max dimension of 13x13mm and shall arrows
not project more than 6.5mm ABCDE 30X30 For exterior
use
ABCDE 60X60 For exterior
 In lengthy walkways, wheelchair rest use
stops or turning spaces with minimum F 20X60 For exterior
use
dimension of 1500mm should be
provided (maximum distance of 12
meters between stops)
SIGNAGE C. INSIDE BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURE

 Should a sign protrude into a walkway, it ENTRANCE

should have a min. headroom of 2
meters  At least 1 entrance to every building
 On walls and doors, it should be located at should be accessible from arrival and
max. height of 1.60 meters and a min. departure points to the interior lobby (1
height of 1.40 meters entrance should have elevator access)
 Entrance with vestibules shall be provided
 Labeling public areas should have a level area with at least 1.8m depth
embossed symbols with min. height of and a 1.5m width
1mm (Braille should also be included)
 Text on signboards shall be of dimension RAMPS
that people with less than normal visual
acuity can read at a certain distance  Change in elevation require a ramp except
when served by a dropped curb, an
CROSSINGS elevator or other mechanical device
 Provide 1,2m clear width with 1:12 max
 To reduce the exposure time to vehicular gradient
traffic, all at grade crossing should:  Length of the ramp should not exceed 6
meter if the gradient is 1:12
 Be perpendicular to the carriageway  Ramps exceeding 6 meters whose
 Be located at the narrowest part of the gradient is 1:12 shall be provided with
road landings not less than 1.5m
 Have central refuges of at least 1.5 m  Level areas not less than 1.8m should be
deep and preferably 2 m, where the provided at the top and bottom
width of road to be crossed exceeds 10  Handrails will be provided on both sides at
m. 700mm and 900mm from the ramp
level
 Provide tactile blocks in the immediate  Shall be equipped with curbs on both sides
vicinity of crossings as an aid to the with a minimum height of 100mm
blind, should be high enough to be felt  Ramp with a rise greater than 200mm and
but low enough to not cause tripping leads down towards a vehicular area,
 Brushed or grooved concrete have not should have a railing across the full
proved successful as tactile strips width of its lower end not less than
1.5m from the foot of the ramp
 Light controlled crossings and audible
signals are best for the disabled DOORS
 Audible signals should be distinguishable
like in indicating end of crossing time  800mm minimum clear width for doors
 A min. of 6 seconds crossing period or (measured between surface of the fully
crossing distance times 0.9 m/sec open door at the hinge and the door
crossing speed, whichever is greater jamb at the stop)
should be used  Should be operable by force not more
than 4 kg (closing device pressure shall
B. PARKING not exceed 1 kg)
 Minimum clear level space of 1.5x1.5m
shall be provided before and extending
PARKING AREAS
beyond a door (Exception: Where a door
shall open onto but not into a corridor, the
 Accessible parking slots should have a required clear level space on the corridor
minimum width of 3,70m side of the door may be a minimum of
 Should be close as possible to building or 1.2m corridor width
accessible entrances and should be
perpendicular or at an angle to the road
 Out swinging doors should be provided at
or circulation areas
storage room, closets and PWD toilet
stall
 Walkways from accessible spaces of 1.2 m  Latching or non-latching, hardware should
clear width shall be provided between not require wrist or fine finger actions
front ends of parked cars  Doorknobs and other hardware should be
 Signs or markings for the handicapped located between 0.82m and 1.06m
parking should be provided above the floor (900mm is preferred)
 Should never be located at sloping areas
 Vertical pull handles centered at 1.06m
 above the floor are preferred to horizontal
pull bars for all doors
 Doors along major circulation routes
should be provided with kick plates at a
height of 300mm to 400mm
THRESHOLDS STAIRS

• Thresholds and sliding door tracks shall have a  Treads should be of slip-resistant material
maximum height of 25mm and preferably and edges of steps should be colored to
ramped be easily seen
 Slanted nosing are preferred over
SWITCHES protruding nosing to avoid feet getting
caught in the recessed areas (Open
 Manual switches shall be positioned within stringer should be avoided)
1.2m to 1.3m above the floor  A 300m wide tactile strip shall be provided
 Manual switches shall be located no before hazardous areas such as sudden
further than 200mm from the latch side change in elevation and at the top and
of the door bottom of stairs

CORRIDORS ELEVATORS

 1.2 meter minimum clear width for  Accessible elevators should be located not
corridors (Shall have no obstruction) more than 30 meters from the entrance
 Turnabout spaces with minimum area of  Shall have a minimum dimension of 1,1 x
1.5x1.5 m and spaced at a maximum of 1.4 meters
12 m shall be provided for wheelchair  Centerline height of topmost buttons shall
passes and turning around of be between 0.9-1.2 m from the floor
wheelchairs
WATER FOUNTAINS
 Turnabout spaces should also be provided
at or within 3.5m of every dead-end  At least 1 fountain shall be provided for
 As in walkways, corridors should be every 2000 sqm of floor area and there
maintained level and provided with slip shall not be less than 1 on each floor.
resistant surface  If wall mounted, the max height shall be
850mm from the floor to the rim and
shall be push-button controlled

WASHROOMS & TOILETS PUBLIC TELEPHONES

 1.7 x 1,8 meters minimum dimension for  Provide an unobstructed space of 1.5 ×
accessible toilets 1.5 m in front of the telephone unit
 1 movable grab bar and 1 fixed to the  Booth door openings should have a
adjacent wall shall be installed at the minimum clear width of 800mm with
accessible water closet stall for lateral either out swing, folding or sliding door
mounting, fixed grab bars on both sides  Controls shall be located at a maximum
for frontal mounting height of 1.1m above the floor

 A turning space of 2.25 sqm with a min. D. SAFETY

dimension of 1.5m for wheelchairs shall
be provided outside water closet stalls FENCING FOR ROAD & FOOT WORKS
 Minimum of 1 accessible water closets on
each floor level (or on that part of a  All excavations must be protected or
floor accessible to the PWD) where the fenced-in, whatever type of fence used,
total number of water closets per sex is it is important that the railing should
20 incorporate the following features:

 Maximum height of lavatories should be  Height of the rail should be at least 1m

800mm with a knee recess of 600- above the adjacent surface
700mm vertical clearance and a 500mm
depth  Railing should incorporate tapping rails
 Urinals should have elongated lip or that should not be greater than 350mm
should be trough-type, the maximum above the adjacent surface
height of the lip should be 480mm  Fence should be strong enough to resist
people walking in to it and gaps
 Signage of men's washroom shall be an between adjoining fences should not
equilateral triangle with a vertex occur
pointing upward (length of sides should
be 300mm)
 Signage of women's washroom shall be a
circle (diameter should be 300mm)
 Signage should at least be 7.5mm thick