Welcome to Part 1 of our Accessible Housing Requirements series!
Our goal is to provide accessible and barrier-free housing to those in our communities who need it most. So, what makes a home accessible?
Our No Limits Collective team defines an accessible home as one that has the following six accessible housing requirements:
- 5’ Turning Circles
- 3’ Wide Doorways
- Barrier-Free Entrance
- 42’ Wide Hallways
- Elevators and Stair-Lifts
- 1 Barrier-Free Washroom
Not only are we on a mission to build barrier-free homes for Albertans and match potential renters to great residences, but we are here to advocate for change! We believe that everyone deserves a home that meets their needs and that the answer to the accessible housing challenge in Alberta is accessible garden suites.
But back to the question at hand… what makes a home accessible?
The Alberta Disabilities Forum (ADF) classified accessible housing as “wheelchair-accessible units that could be occupied by a person in a wheelchair on a full-time basis. These units have zero-threshold entrances, wider doorways, and accessible bathrooms with a roll-in shower. They may also include an accessible kitchen.”
Let’s dig into the first accessible housing requirement: the 5’ turning circle.
Accessible Housing Requirements: 5’ Turning Circle
We believe there must be a minimum turning diameter of 1.5m (5 feet) in all areas of a home dwelling. This allows for the use of wheelchairs and mobility aids in all common areas, such as:
- Entrance areas
- Kitchens
- Stair landings
- Bedrooms
- Bathrooms
- Laundry rooms
- Paths of travel like hallways
The 5’ turning circle allows someone in a wheelchair or with a walker or cane to turn around without bumping into anything.
Wheelchair Turning Circles
Turning circles, also known as turning area, turning space, maneuvering space, or turning radius, measure the space required to make a 180-degree turn in a wheelchair. This turning circle or radius is the distance from the center of the wheelchair (between the two drive wheels) to the outermost point on the wheelchair base.
Having a wide turning circle allows wheelchair users to navigate hallways and floor spaces without added difficulty.
While the 5’ turning circle makes perfect sense functionally, it can create challenges for spatial planning in construction.
The 5’ Turning Circle Challenge
To adhere to the 5’ turning circle guidelines, builders may have to make sacrifices to the floor plan. For example, by adding more open space in the bathroom and bedrooms, builders may need to shrink the living space and kitchen size. Features like an island may not be possible as it could prohibit our 5’ turning circle requirements. Room separations must be managed carefully if a 5’ open radius is unachievable.
The obvious solution would be to add square footage to the project to accommodate our additional need for open space. However, adding square footage adds costs and, therefore, can negatively affect an investment scenario.
In many instances, municipalities have no mechanism to allow for the extra floor space required. For example, a garden suite in Spruce Grove has a maximum floor space allowance of 650 square feet, regardless of whether or not the unit is accessible.
This can make it challenging for investors, homeowners and builders to create a truly barrier-free suite.
Looking To Build An Accessible Home?
No Limits Collective (NLC) is an initiative designed to create more accessible housing in Alberta. Our incentive program brings property owners, builders, and non-profits together to build rental properties (that includes all six of our accessible housing requirements) to benefit everyone in the community. By offering compelling incentives to investors and builders, we aim to make accessibility the norm, not the exception.
If you want to learn more about our accessible housing program and how it works, click here.
