Last updated on 28/02/04
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Requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act

GENERAL SITUATION
Lobbies, by their nature, can often be a particular problem to disabled people and especially those in wheelchairs because of their restricted size and/or the intrusion, into such spaces, of doors, etc.

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

1. Ideally, all lobby doors should open in the same direction. But where this is not feasible, the doors should be offset.
   
2. Lobbies should be sized so as to allow wheelchair users to move clear of the first door before negotiating the second. Single door lobbies, depending on their design, have a minimum length of 1570mm plus the width, or twice the width, of the door. They should have a width of 300mm more than the width of the door, or 1200mm, whichever is the greater.
   
3. Whatever the arrangement of the doors, the critical dimension is that from the edge of one fully open door to a parallel point in line with the leading edge of the other door.
   
4. Where doors to a lobby do not have vision panels, the length of the lobby should be such as to allow a wheelchair plus an attendant to be clear of opening doors at either end of the lobby.
5. Special attention should be paid to the ability of anyone in difficulty to make others aware.

CHECKLIST

1. Is the space inside the lobby adequate to assist manoeuvrability
   in opening and closing doors? ( )
   
2. Do the doors meet the criteria (see factsheet 'DOORS'), as regards width, viewing, glass, handles, closers, weight and tactiles? ( )
   
3. Could someone in difficulty become trapped in the lobby? ( )

DIAL Disclaimer
Whilst all the information given in this fact sheet was correct at the time of going to press,
DIAL Doncaster cannot be held responsible for any subsequent changes.