Accessibility: Parking Pay Stations and Kiosks

6.5 min read

Originally Published on Parking Industry Insights

Let’s recall that time when the person using the parking pay station in front of you turned around and asked you how to use it.  Probably last weekend.

Joking aside, parking pay stations (or kiosks) play an integral role in permitting someone to park at a facility. When your parking transaction goes well, you feel a sense of relief that you don’t have to go looking for assistance, or worse, stay put and hold-up the cars behind you. I know you know what I’m talking about.

Now, let’s recall a time when you couldn’t purchase parking at the pay station because you couldn’t reach the controls or read the screen. Maybe not you, but a number of people, with and without disabilities, know this experience all too well. It’s also not uncommon for people with disabilities to be exempt from having to pay parking fees either, when the parking lot owner knows full well, they haven’t got accessible parking pay stations on site.

This article is intended to bring awareness to the accessibility of parking pay stations and what that involves. To make a parking pay station truly accessible, it involves multiple parties often with decisions having to be made by both the vendor or manufacturer and the building operator or designer.

Recognize that accessibility does not just benefit people with disabilities. A lot of the “accessible” characteristics for accessible parking pay stations are helpful to everybody.

Parking pay stations are not considered to form part of a physical building and are not required by the building code to be accessible.  So why should organizations go the extra mile to make them accessible when that would cost money or be a significant investment? You’re right, it does cost money and it’s going to be expensive, but you know what makes you more money, having everyone be capable of paying for their parking. Not to mention, the thought process of not going above and beyond the code is becoming outdated.

If you’re currently working on, for example, federal projects or facilities governed under the Canadian Transportation Agency, guess what? They are required to have accessible parking pay station options. Meanwhile, as more and more buildings undergo Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility CertificationTM (RHFAC) Ratings, buildings with parking will want accessible parking pay stations because they can lose points if they’re not.  The RHFAC Rating has a section specifically dedicated to accessible parking pay stations and buildings typically meet it or they don’t.  This could be the reason why a building achieves Accessible Certification instead of Gold Certification – so be ready for the client when they come asking for an accessible parking pay station – because it’s going to happen…

Parking pay stations are made up of a series of interactive components in order to complete a transaction (ie. activation keys, selection controls, a screen with various instructions and prompts, a pinpad, card reader, coin and bill insertion slot etc.). A lot of the time these interactive components are not user-friendly or accessible, for example, the buttons may be too small, not easy to find or follow, the prompts on the screen are barely visible, the screen is not glare-free, it’s difficult to retrieve your credit card from the card insertion slot - the list goes on.  

If parking pay stations applied the general rules of the building code regarding its provisions for building controls, the interactive components could be improved upon.Consider locating all operable components not more than 1200 mm above finish floor/ground level, ensure all operable components are usable with limited to no force, and are approachable using a clear floor space of at least 800 mm by 1350

Similar to Leed Certification but instead of sustainability it addresses accessibility and is a system designed to measure the level of meaningful access throughout a built environment, inclusive of items such as parking pay stations that are required to be used by the occupants along their travels.

Let’s go one step further and take into consideration some of the things that the RHFAC survey criteria look for when it comes to accessible parking pay stations:

• Be installed in a safe and convenient location on a level ground or floor surface (not raised or served by a step)

• Provided with directional signage if not within visual line-of-sight from the parking spaces

• Have colour-contrasted features and components while being colour-contrasted from its surroundings once installed

• Have a screen that is easy to read information from (adjustable, glare-free, reflection-free, strong contrast between wording and screen background, good illumination etc.)

• Include legible instructions that are easy to read and follow along with

• Has a variety of payment methods (card, cash, smart pay)

The options don’t end here, parking pay stations can be even more accessible when they are sheltered, come in a variety of heights, have integrated zoom-in functions, programmed with audible and visual notifications, are used in combination with a variety of other payment options (in-person, prepay etc.), have virtual assistance (two-way communication, video relay systems, headphone jacks, text options, captioning), and come with an array of tactile and illuminated features.

Additional resources regarding Canadian standards that address accessibility provisions for parking pay stations are:

• CSA B651-18 Accessible Design for the Built Environment Standard

• CSA-B651.2 Accessible Design for Self-Service Interactive Devices

Now that you’re aware of numerous accessibility provisions for parking pay stations and have a list of resources to reference, there is no excuse not to provide accessible options. It’s time to stay ahead of the game and allow everybody to pay for parking. What’s not to like about that?

Reference

Accessibility: Parking Pay Stations and Kiosks [Web log post]. (2021, April 22). Retrieved April 22, 2021, from https://www.parkingindustry.ca/feature-articles/accessibility-parking-pay-stations-and-kiosks

Samantha Proulx, CET, RHFAC, BCIN
Principal, ABE Factors Inc.