Amenities

Building amenities, such as seating areas, planters, garbage cans, signs, displays, vending machines and art (including sculptures), should not be placed in the path of travel. They should be detectable by long cane users at floor level wherever possible. Use colour and brightness contrast to help differentiate amenities from floors and walls.

To help with the identification of amenities, consider locating them in amenity zones that are differentiated from adjacent paths of travel using floor finishes with different colour and tactile characteristics. Amenity zones can help to define and reinforce the intended path of travel through an area.

Fire extinguishers, drinking fountains and telephone booths in hallways should be recessed into corridor walls. If this isn’t possible, these fixtures should be detectable by a long cane user at floor level. They should contrast in colour and brightness to surrounding surfaces.