Expert: Sharon Toji - 7/28/2011

Question
We have always made our Stairwell ID signs (for office buildings) with tactile text and corresponding Braille per the California Building Code.  A designer recently requested this type of signage without Braille and said that the law had changed and Braille was no longer required.  Can you tell me if this is correct?

Thank you.

Answer
It is a real sore point with me that this mistake was EVER made. Some very uninformed consultant back in about 1992 put this in the California code,obviously completely blanking out on the fact that tactile characters can NOT be more than 2 inches high, that the strokes cannot be more than 20 percent of the letter height, etc. On top of that, the braille comes across as complete non-punctuated nonsense to a blind person. Think about it:  What would you understand if you read:  "Stair 1 Roof Access 5 1 thru 6" I don't think anyone could possibly think that it would make any sense or tell the person anything that would help them find their way.

I tried to get it changed way back then, and due to various missteps and miscues of the DSA and BSC, it took about 7 years to get it done. Then, sadly, architects did not bother to really read the new code, so just now, we are finally getting some compliance on a topic that was not legal from the first!

Michael Mankin from the DSA did put out an interpretation many years ago, which was on the DSA site, but of course, few people bother to read that.

So -- you can understand why this is a sore point! Also, if anyone ever asked someone from the Fire Marshal's office, they would have said years ago that the sign was for emergency personnel, running up and down the stairs during an emergency, not for the public, and they had no interest in it being tactile or having any braille. People spent a lot of unnecessary money due to this mistake.

OK, so when we finally got this taken care of, years ago, we added what was required:  A SMALL sign, pretty much identical to the number sign on the elevator hoistways, merely stating the floor level designation, and with a star displayed to the left of the floor where the exit is. (That's usually the first floor). You don't need extra words like "Level" or "Floor." Just the number (or letter -- like "P" for Parking -- is fine. This sign is placed, like all tactile door ID signs adjacent to the latch side of the door INSIDE the enclosed stairwell. That way, if a person who is blind has to use the stair rather than the elevator, they can check and see what floor they are on. The large sign also changed with the last code. Now you have to make it bigger, and add a line telling what the exit floor is, like "Exit on Floor 1" -- that goes at the bottom below everything else.

Just to catch you up, next March, the new federal ADA laws will go into effect. There are some changes to the sign section. Just contact me at sharon@tojico.com, and I'll send you a newsletter and put you on the list when my new manual comes out.

Sorry to have sounded off! Anyway, just make the little signs with a raised letter and braille, and if the building is 4 stories or more, then make the large sign as per the new rules, and do not use raised characters and braille.

Sharon Toji