Designed to be accessible and meet state and federal accessibility codes and regulations -
Lately we have been working with Designing Accessible Communities, (www.designingaccessiblecommunities.com ) a non-profit organization that promotes policies and products for accessible design, to identify table bases that can be used to build wheelchair accessible tables.
Despite the fact that there has been a Federal Law requiring wheelchair accessibility in public places since 1992, there is still a lot of confusion about the requirements. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a Federal civil rights law that prohibits the exclusion of people with disabilities from everyday activities. The ADA requires that 5% of dining, banquet and bar tables must be wheelchair accessible. This means that 1 out of every 20 tables in a restaurant must be accessible for patrons in a wheelchair. It also means that if there is a separate bar or banquet area, that each area must have the required number of accessible tables. Small restaurants and cafes are not exempted from the regulations; if the restaurant or bar has less than 20 tables, at least 1 must be accessible.
An accessible table has a clear area under the table that is at least 19” deep by 30” wide and 27” high. It is usually recommended that the area under the table be approximately 29” tall to serve persons with larger electric wheelchairs. The surface of the table top must be between 28” and 34” above the floor. The clear area under the table cannot have any obstruction that will interfere with either the wheelchair or the knees and feet of the patron.
For smaller round, or square tables, our bolt-down bases are usually the best solution if you can permanently mount them in place. The bolt-down bases have the smallest footprint and therefore the least amount of interference of all our bases. These bases are:
Eclipse Stainless Steel
P1F Black
P1F Chrome
Roswell Stainless Steel
For rectangular tables a pair of T Style Bases will work well. The bases must be placed so that there is at least 30” clear between them. These bases are:
B22T Black
B22T Chrome
B22T Stainless Steel
XG22T Black
XG22T Chrome
Using 4 of our table legs are a good choice for larger round, square or rectangular tables. These legs are:
Katrina Stainless Steel
PL3 Black
PL4 Black
It should also be noted that there must be a 30” x 48” clear area at each accessible seating location. The 30” x 48” area can include the 19” that extends under the table that we talked about above. There must be an accessible route to the table. This is a 36” wide path, even with people seated at tables.
Besides the legal requirements, I think, a lot of the restauranteurs I talk with understand that it is good business to accommodate all of their potential customers. It is also simply the right thing to do.
