ABSTRACT
Many provisions in accessibility standards are based on assumptions about the sizes of wheeled mobility devices. Thus, the "clear floor space" (CFS) of an occupied wheelchair is a basic "building block" of standards. The CFS is used to establish an "accessible" approach area to fixtures , equipment and controls, like water fountains, paper dispensers, electrical controls, and ATMs. It is also used to establish the space needed in seating areas reserved for people who use wheeled mobility devices, both in buildings and in transpOJiation vehicles . S ince 1 980, several research studies on the anthropometry of wheeled mobility devices and their users in Canada, the UK and Australia, have demonstrated that many wheeled mobility devices and their users are larger than those on which accessibility standards and codes arc based. In thi s article we describe a study in the U .S . that verified these findings and provides new information that can be used to improve standards and codes. We also discuss the impOJ1ance of how research information i s communicated to desil:,'11ers and standards developers and present a design resource that can be used both by both groups to address the needs of contemporary whceled mobi lity users from a universal design perspective .
