Cover     Contents     Summary     Primary     Secondary     Examples     More topics     Glossary     Resources

 

Photos 1 and 2

Users of this trail in northern Italy benefit from a high level of confidence, because of excellent and predictable maintenance

Operational and maintenance issues


Summary

For people with disabilities, knowledge of operational and maintenance procedures is essential to determine if the trail experience will be reliable and feel safe.


Description

Especially in the United States, too much emphasis is placed on capital improvements and their costs, and not enough on ongoing maintenance once a capital project has been completed.  Seeing the two photos to the left, of routine trail maintenance in Italy, is a reminder that the regularity and quality of maintenance is essential to all users, but especially people with disabilities who need to plan their excursion in advance.


For people with disabilities, knowledge of operational procedures, along with maintenance, is essential to determine if the trail experience will be reliable and feel safe.  Posting that information along with other trail information would be extremely useful, and in some cases, as described in the examples below, is essential.


Examples

Operational

  1. Closing hours - what are the hours of operation?

  2. Closing hours - is there a pre-closing “sweep”, so that people will not get trapped if a facility is locked?

  3. Are there shared uses that should be of concern to the user, such as dog off-leash areas or bridle paths.

  4. What are the security concerns and measures, so that a user may feel safe? 

  5. What are the options in case of an accident or a crime?


Maintenance

  1. What is done to remove obstacles? 

  2. What is done to prune branches that cross over the path?  This is one of the primary concerns of people who are blind.

  3. What is done to maintain [compact] crushed rock paths? 

  4. What is done to maintain edge protection?  This is another primary concern of people who are blind.

Blind_and_visually_impaired.html
General_reminders.html

Page 18 of 42

Next pageGeneral_reminders.html
Previous pageBlind_and_visually_impaired.html

Photos 3 and 4

Two examples of obstructions that could interrupt trail use for wheelchair hikers

Next page

Previous page