The freedom to paddle

Making “carry-down” watercraft launch sites accessible

By Janet Zeller, National Accessibility Program Manager, US Forest Service

other type of watercraft you can carry down to a launch site? If you do, you are among thou- sands of people across the U.S. participating in the fast-growing activity of paddlesports.

D

As long as you have a legal access point to the body of water you want to paddle, you can carry your watercraft and paddling gear with you to that point and launch. You aren’t limited to

14 FALL 2014 AmericanTrails.org

o you paddle a canoe, kayak, raft, stand up paddle board or some

launching only at specially-constructed facilities, as is the case with larger watercraft such as motor boats and sailboats that must be towed by a vehi- cle to a boat ramp. There are two key concepts in developing or improving a carry-down watercraft launch site: sustainability and accessibility. The need for sustain- ability is obvious— what is constructed today needs to last to protect the resource and also to need as little maintenance as possible. Accessibility requires more thought, but there are plenty of good ideas and examples to guide you in making your water trails accessible to people of all abilities.

Accessibility standards There are accessibility standards

for boarding docks, gangways, and other areas at marinas. See Chapter 10 of the 2006 Architectural Barriers Act Accessibility Standards (ABAAS) for federal agencies and Chapter 10 of the 2010 Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design (ADASAD) for state and local govern- ments and private entities open to the public.

There are also ABAAS accessibility

standards for the routes in outdoor developed area recreation between opportunities on federal lands, such as the parking lot to the water access point, which are the Accessibility Guidelines for Outdoor Developed Areas, the ODA. However there are no accessibility standards or guidelines that apply to