Public Education + Information

Signage for Accessible Features: A picture is worth a thousand words, and if it’s a picture of an accessible feature, it’s like a flag waving on a landmark, helping people find what they are looking for. Such signs are seen on websites, while driving on park roads, and on various maps and displays in the park that provide information. Showing accessible features on maps allows visitors to get a general sense of what and how much is accessible. Many people look online before going to a park to make sure the time and money spent to get there are worth the trip. See IMAGE 1A for positive/active accessibility park signs.  

A. In-Park Signage: Not everything in a park is accessible. Even for the prepared traveler, in-park signs that indicate accessible features are important. Besides the ones found along the road, informational signage and maps need to be readable for people who have limited vision or are blind.

1. Road Signs: Parks with multiple trails, overlooks, picnic tables, etc. need to indicate the accessible features with a symbol on road signs. Especially if the park has spent the money to create access, let people know what has been done. See IMAGE 2K and 2L for examples.
   a. Sometimes it’s hard or impossible for someone with a mobility device, like a walker or wheelchair, to turn around on the road if the desired accessible point of interest is missed. Give people some warning.
   b. People may be on their way to a visitor center to get a map and miss opportunities if they aren’t properly signposted.

2. Area Signs/Maps: Every visitor needs to know basic options, like where bathrooms and food are located, so inform people. When there are several outdoor attractions and activities in the area, but not all are accessible, let people know what accessibility may be possible. Indicate the accessible routes. See IMAGE 2J.
3. Signs: For instance, use the informational board at a visitor center. A visitor may see a sign for an accessible bathroom and parking spot from the road and assume there is something more to that particular area. Instead of having them figure out that there’s nothing else, which will happen, have a map showing alternative attractions close to that location. This is a powerful, positive, and informative interaction that doesn’t require in-person explanations. See IMAGE 2H.
4. Maps: Hand-held maps and maps displayed in the park can identify the best accessible features with an accessible icon starred and labelled “Accessible Details at…” Environmentally friendly and strong stickers could be used on existing in-park maps instead of printing new maps.
5. Cell Phones: Use an app or barcode on park maps with the access symbol for people to access information with their smart phones. See Image 3A and 3C.

3. Trails and Points of Interest Signs: At the trailhead, site, or landmark and on the trail, signs can be used to provide access details, and it begins with parking.
4. Parking: Designated parking spots, like IMAGE 2C, need signs and clear paint jobs to prevent misuse from others who claim they “didn’t see.” Designated parking is often at the front, but not always, so having clear signage where a spot is available directs people immediately and keeps traffic flowing. Signs are better than just paint jobs, because they usually can be spotted faster, and painting requires more maintenance. Having clear marked lines indicating the ADA boundary is necessary, especially in popular areas. When another car parks over the line, this may prevent necessary aisle access for wheelchairs and vans with ramps.  
5. Picnic Areas: For large picnic areas, signs can be used to indicate accessible pathways to picnic tables that are ADA modified. Help people by flagging this with a sign so they don’t have to spend so much time looking, or worse, assume there is no picnic table that’s accessible and give up. For picnic shelters or when tables are placed close to one another, paint the end of the most accessible table blue. This shows park visitors that out of the twenty tables, for example, there are two with extended ends. See examples under “Picnic Tables + Grills.”
6. Trailhead: Use a color-coded graph to map out where benches are located as well as the slopes/grades of the trail. For example, 0-2% = green, 3-5% yellow, 6-10% = red, 10-18% = purple. Indicate on the trailhead map where benches, resting pads, and other points of interest, like bathrooms, statues, etc. are located. See IMAGE 2B.
   * With these details, people can determine how far on the trail is possible; it’s up to people to set their limits. For example, maybe a person can only walk a half mile before resting, but they would want to know if a waterfall or meadow existed within that distance with a bench. Or if a trail is only accessible to a certain point, then show how far along a person can go. Maybe it’s worth it or maybe not, but give people the freedom to explore and make their own choice.

1. On the Trail: Sometimes a trail is only accessible to a certain point, as noted. Letting people know how far they can go ahead of time is needed, but it’s also important to note when accessibility ends on the actual trail itself, especially if trail conditions become unsafe, like there is cliff or hill approaching. If people wish to continue on a trail, then this is their choice. Some trails may appear to be accessible, i.e. a paved trail, but if it’s not, a sign is needed to detour hikers. See Image 2E, IMAGE 2F and IMAGE 2G.
   * When there is an informational board/panel on the trail, make it

    readable for the blind. Use tactile models and/or auditory devices to   

    explain what it is. See IMAGE 3E, IMAGE 3G and IMAGE 3H.

1. Website: Don’t make people click through so many website pages to find, for example, that the park offers assistive listening devices. For legal reasons, some parks are restricted to certain webpage formatting, so here are a few examples on how to implement accessible information online.

1. Homepage Navigation: A menu tab, text link, or icon needs to be located on the homepage that links directly to a page or a menu page of accessibility information. This frees up space on the home page for general park and visitor information, see IMAGE 1B (Yosemite Homepage) and IMAGE 1B (CA State Park Homepage.) After clicking the accessible icon on the CA State Parks, a page appears where people can search all CA parks based on activity interest, such as hiking or camping, or search by region, see IMAGE 1H.

Don’t hide all access info under another category. For example, on the East Bay Parks website, there is a menu column on the right side that includes links for parks/trails, activities, kids, etc. This homepage menu needs to have an accessibility link, because as it stands, people have to know to navigate to the Parks/Trail section to see if there even is an accessibility section. What if the person is just looking to do an activity and goes to that page first, or this person has a kid in a wheelchair and goes directly to the kids page? They will not see the accessibility info.

2. Accessible Information: Don’t make people search for all the accessibility details about a place on multiple pages.
3. Example 1: When you go to the homepage of the EBRP and go to Parks/Trails then Trails, there is a link to the Alameda Creek Trail, which only gives information about trail makeup and nothing else. See IMAGE 1D.
4. Example 2: If you go to the EBRP Accessibility Trail Report Page (Homepage à Parks/Trail à Accessibility à Trail Accessibility Reports), a list of trail reports are provided that give details about the trails. However, Alameda Creek Trail is not listed, even though the site says it is in other places. These reports give general information about the trail, like width, grade, and cross-slope. These reports use walking people for icons, and don’t give additional details about access on a trail, like parking or resting pads. Again, people have to search a whole different page to get this information. Overall, these pages could do a LOT more to detail accessibility.
5. Example 3: On the EBRP Accessibility page (Homepage à Parks/Trails à Accessibility) there is a section that says beach wheelchairs are available at the spots listed below. Many of them then just link to the general park page that may or may not have details in terms of exact location, rental phone number, etc.

3. Online Maps Signage: Maps help people find what they are looking for in a desired location. Many people begin their search online to see what outdoor destinations are possible and worth going to. There are national, regional, state, local, and in-park maps that are made available to the public online. Either incorporate accessible features into the general map or create a separate map of accessible features. This is a relatively easy and cost-effective way to digitally manage public accessibility information. Incorporation is highly recommended.
4. Multiple Parks: When using maps online for multiple parks, indicate what parks are accessible. Or if the majority are accessible to some degree, then indicate the ones that are not; either way, be clear on the distinction.
5. Example in IMAGE 1H, the CA State Park system allows people to search by parks based on area of activity interest, such as hiking or camping or by park/area. Using the state park map example IMAGE 1A, by changing the color of the icon to blue when accessible, people can identify what parks to look deeper into.
6. Single Park: For specific parks maps online, indicate accessible features, at least for the major points. See IMAGE 1G.

1. Public Presentations & Outreach: Reach out to the public to share how the park is accessible and get community feedback on what is really important and suggestions for improvements.

1. Public Events: Specialized expositions, like the Abilities Expo and the No Barriers Org, are occurring throughout the year all over the United States. Regional events, like BORP’s annual Sports Fest in Berkeley, with adaptive outdoor recreation, are also obvious choices for promotion. Get a booth or signup to speak at these kinds of events.

2. Specialized Websites: Partner with quality websites like com that are connected with the accessibility community and report on outdoor recreation.
3. Public Forums: Hold public forums to get feedback on what people want and expect at your park as well as how to improve things. Don’t spend a ton of time and money on access changes that won’t make much difference.
4. Park Days: Host a day in the park with a ranger-led hike where you can discuss accessibility in the park and get priceless feedback.