Wheelchair Access & Movement

Accessibility is not just the furniture — it’s the space around it.

Wheelchair-accessible picnic tables and outdoor amenities are often installed with good intentions, but fail in real-world use.

While a table may technically allow knee clearance, many designs overlook the approach route, surface material, turning space, and real-world size of powered wheelchairs.

Powered wheelchairs are common in public spaces and are typically larger, heavier, and less forgiving of poor surfaces than manual chairs. If we want inclusive playgrounds and parks that work for everyone, we must design these amenities right the first time.

Key principle:
If a wheelchair user cannot approach, turn, position, and leave independently, the amenity is not accessible.

Why powered wheelchairs change the design brief

Why powered wheelchairs must be considered

Powered wheelchairs:

They are wider and longer than many manual chairs

Require larger turning circles.

Perform poorly on wet grass, loose bark, or uneven transitions.

Cannot be “lifted” or bumped over edges

Many accessible designs are based on minimum indoor assumptions, not outdoor realities.

Lived experience

“A picnic table surrounded by grass is not accessible. It becomes unusable the moment the ground is wet.”

Real-world “larger powerchair” dimensions (with sources)

These are chair footprints that help you design beyond a manual chair.

A) Heavy-duty powerchair (common “big” footprint)

Pride Jazzy 1450 (600 lb / 272 kg capacity)

• Overall width: 74.2 cm (742 mm)

• Overall length: 97.0 cm (970 mm)

This is a great example because it’s clearly wider than many standard chairs.

B) Larger outdoor-performance powerchair (longer footprint)

Permobil F5 Corpus

• Base width: 630 mm

• Base length: 1040–1140 mm

• Minimum turning radius: 1490 mm

Even if the base width isn’t huge, the length + real manoeuvring is what often breaks small pads and tight approach routes.

C) Bariatric powerchair (biggest footprint category)

Cobi Rehab Bariatric Power Wheelchair

• Total width: 78 cm (780 mm)

• Total length (with footrests): 130 cm (1300 mm)

This is the category that exposes “accessible on paper” designs most quickly.