DSA PR 15-01: REQUIRED INFORMATION FOR PATH OF TRAVEL UPGRADES ON CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS (with revisions issued through April 2017)

PR 15-01

PROCEDURE: REQUIRED INFORMATION FOR PATH OF TRAVEL UPGRADES ON CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS

DISCIPLINE(S): Accessibility

PURPOSE: To provide guidance on the required information to be shown on construction documents submitted to the Division of the State Architect (DSA) for path of travel upgrades required as a part of alteration, addition or structural repair projects in accordance with the California Building Code (CBC) in effect at the time of submittal.

BACKGROUND: A project at an existing site is an alteration of that facility and subject to the requirements of CBC Section 11B-202.4 Path of travel requirements in alterations, additions and structural repairs. This applies to new construction on that site as well as to alteration, addition and structural repair of the existing construction. Detailed guidance on the scoping for the path of travel for these projects is provided in DSA Interpretation of Regulation IR 11B-10: Scoping and Path of Travel Upgrade Requirements for Facility Alteration, Addition and Structural Repair Projects.

PROCEDURE:

1. PATH OF TRAVEL DOCUMENTATION: Construction documents shall clearly delineate the path of travel for a project, including any upgrades of path of travel elements, as required by the CBC. It is essential that the path of travel shown be an accurate representation of the actual field conditions at the time the project is submitted to DSA.

1.1 Examination of Existing Conditions: The compliance status of path of travel elements, components and features shall be examined by or under the direction of the design professional in responsible charge during the preparation of the construction documents.

1.2 Use of Prior Project Documentation: Use of documentation or application numbers from prior projects does not relieve design professionals of their responsibility to accurately indicate the compliance status of the required path of travel elements serving the area of the alteration, addition or structural repair.

1.3 Required Documentation: Path of travel documentation shall include:

• A facility site plan showing the overall extent of the property on which the project is located, existing buildings and site improvements in diagrammatic form.

• Indication on the facility site plan of the project’s area of work.

• Indication on the facility site plan of the project-specific accessible path of travel, beginning at the site arrival points and ending at the entrance to the area of alteration, addition or structural repair.

• Indication of the interior path of travel when the project area is within an existing building, including a plan of the primary entrance floor and in a multi-story building a plan of the floor on which the project area is located.

• Indication of any noncompliant path of travel elements, components or features that will be upgraded as part of the project, along with the key references to appropriate details and enlarged plans.

• When applicable, indication of any noncompliant path of travel elements that will not be upgraded as part of the project, based on valuation threshold limitations or a finding of unreasonable hardship.

• Project-specific plans and details for any required path of travel upgrades, suitable for construction and inspection; general references to "code compliance" or standard details requiring extensive modification to suit project conditions shall not be sufficient.

2. DESIGN PROFESSIONAL IN GENERAL RESPONSIBLE CHARGE STATEMENT: The drawing sheet delineating the Path of Travel (POT) for a project shall include the following statement:

"Design Professional in General Responsible Charge Statement: The POT identified in these construction documents meets the requirements of the current applicable California Building Code (CBC) accessibility provisions for path of travel requirements for alterations, additions and structural repairs. As part of the design of this project, the POT was examined and any elements, components or portions of the POT that were determined to be noncompliant with the CBC have been identified and the corrective work necessary to bring them into compliance has been included within the scope of this project’s work through details, drawings and specifications incorporated into these construction documents. Any noncompliant elements, components or portions of the POT that will not be corrected by this project based on valuation threshold limitations or a finding of unreasonable hardship are indicated in these construction documents.

During construction, if POT items within the scope of the project represented as CBC compliant are found to be nonconforming beyond reasonable construction tolerances, the items shall be brought into compliance with the CBC as a part of this project by means of a construction change document."

3. FIELD VERIFICATION: DSA may review the code compliance of the path of travel during the course of a project.

3.1 Plan Review: DSA may verify compliance of path of travel elements presented on the construction documents as part of the plan review process. Discrepancies between the construction documents and actual field conditions will be resolved as part of the plan review and back check process.

3.2 During Construction: Path of travel items within the scope of the project represented as code compliant but found to be nonconforming beyond reasonable construction tolerances shall be brought into compliance with the CBC as a part of the project. A construction change document to correct the discrepancy shall be prepared by the design professional in responsible charge.

3.3 At Completion: Any required path of travel upgrades not complete at the end of the project will be identified as Deficiency Items and indicated as such in the DSA Certification Box until corrected.

4. COMMON PATH OF TRAVEL ITEMS: While the path of travel is unique for each project, experience has shown that certain reoccurring path of travel elements, features and components should be checked during the development of project construction documents. These items include but are not limited to:

• Primary building or facility entrance

• Toilet and bathing facilities serving the area of alteration

• Drinking fountains serving the area of alteration

• Public telephones serving the area of alteration

• Exterior or interior signs along the path of travel

• Accessible route components

• Walking surfaces dimensions

• Running slope of walking surfaces, not to exceed 1:20 (5%)

• Running slope of ramps, not to exceed 1:12 (8.33%)

• Cross slope of walks and ramps not to exceed 1:48 (2.083%)

• Landings and level area slopes not to exceed 1:48 (2.083%)

• Vertical changes in level

• Openings in drains and gratings not to exceed ½ inch in predominant direction of travel

• Protruding objects and overhead obstructions

• Site arrival points, such as parking, passenger drop-off and loading zones, and bus stops

5. CONSTRUCTION TOLERANCES: While it is always advisable to avoid design requirements that are at or near dimensional thresholds, construction tolerances may be used when evaluating the compliance of existing path of travel elements. See DSA Interpretation of Regulation IR 11B-8: Use of Predetermined Construction Tolerance Guidelines for Accessibility.

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A Division of the State Architect (DSA) Procedure documents a process or series of steps that DSA staff and/or external stakeholders must complete in order to fulfill one or more administrative requirements of DSA's plan and construction review programs.