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Blue Ridge Bank - Charlottesville

Results from VisitAble's Accessibility Test

Section

Parking

Description of Section

This includes the number of accessible parking spaces, the labeling of the accessible parking spaces, and the accessibility of the accessible parking spaces.

Details

  • There are 3 accessible parking spaces, they are standard accessible spaces but none of them are van-accessible

  • There are 4 parking spaces labeled as accessible, but one of them does not have an access aisle

  • The parking lot is made of smooth pavement, but the parking spaces are at a slight upwards angle towards the curb

  • The spaces are marked as accessible with painting on the parking lot surface, but the two closest ones to Blue Ridge Bank also have a sign post beyond the space

  • Paint on the parking lot surface is a contrasted color, but is slightly fading

Section

Pathway to Entrance and Entrance

Description of Section

This includes the accessibility of the pathway from the accessible parking spaces to the entrance (including curb ramps, ground/floor surfaces, etc.) and the accessibility of the entrance itself (widths of doors, lips under doors, etc.).

Details

  • The pathway to the entrance is on paved parking lot and sidewalk and involves one curb ramp and one exterior door before reaching the interior entrance door, the entire pathway is about 40-130 feet depending on what accessible space is used and what entrance is used

  • The curb ramp near the entrance facing Seminole Trail has about a 0.5-inch lip/vertical change to get on the curb ramp, the edges of the curb ramp/sidewalk are not marked with contrasting paint, the slope of the curb ramp is accessible, and the width of the curb ramps is more than 60 inches

  • The curb ramp at the corner of the building closer to the main entrance has two lips/vertical changes to get on the curb ramp, which are both about 0.5-1 inch, the edges of the curb ramp/sidewalk are not marked with contrasting paint, the running slope of the curb ramp is accessible but there is a cross slope (perpendicular to path of travel) of more than 3%, and the width of the curb ramps is about 36 inches

  • There are no truncated domes or tactile pads on either of the curb ramps

  • There are two entrances, one facing Seminole Trail and one facing perpendicular to Seminole Trail; both of the entrances have: an exterior door and an interior door, accessible maneuvering clearances, no automatic door openers, little to no lip/threshold, carpeted flooring between the doors that is not thicker than 1/2 inch, accessible door hardware at accessible heights, and are all glass doors with trim on them

  • The exterior entrance door facing Seminole Trail is 38 inches wide and could be considered difficult to open, the interior entrance door facing Seminole Trail is 32 inches wide and is very easy to open, both the exterior and interior sets of entrance doors facing perpendicular to Seminole Trail are sets of double doors where each door opens to 32.75 inches wide and all of the doors are very difficult to open

Section

Interior Pathways

Description of Section

This includes accessibility of different items in the location, pathways in the location, signage, cleanliness of pathways, how steep pathways are, presence of inaccessible areas, accessibility of doors not covered by other sections, accessibility of any complimentary water/refreshments/snacks, and the presence and accessibility of any seating.

Details

  • There is seating spread throughout the location, and all seating surfaces are at accessible heights above the floor

  • All counters, desks, and tables are at accessible heights above the floor

  • There is a couch with a coffee table in front of it that might make it difficult for some customers to access the couch, but staff members are happy to move the coffee table out of the way upon request

  • All interior doors - which are potentially office doors and the door to the conference room are at least 32 inches wide and are opened and closed by staff members which escort you to these areas

  • Sometimes staff members may seat you in the office, they are happy to move chairs out of their office to create more space upon request

  • All customer-facing pathways are at least 36 inches wide and are level

  • At the time of our accessibility test: there was a table with snacks and bottled water on it where all the items were less than 46 inches above the floor, there was a counter with hand sanitizer and some pamphlets that were over 48 inches at the time of our visit, and there was a hand sanitizer dispenser right outside the interior entrance door near the ATM where the sensor was about at 50.5 inches above the floor

  • There is an accessible ATM near the entrance facing Seminole Trail that has buttons at accessible heights that can be differentiated by touch and a speech mode which can be turned on by inserting headphones into the headphone jack - there are extra headphones for customers to use behind the teller counters which can be borrowed upon request during normal business hours

  • There is a night drop box near the entrance facing Seminole Trail that has all it’s features below 48 inches above the floor but it is difficult to close the night drop box after using it

  • The entire location is carpeted, but the carpet is less than 1/2 inch thick

  • There are quiet, partitioned spaces available via the conference room and the offices of staff members

  • During our visit we measured the sound level to be about 45 decibels

  • There are windows with shades available

  • There are bags with handles available upon request

  • There are no digital or braille alternatives to pamphlets or print materials

Section

Bathroom

Description of Section

This includes bathrooms being labeled as accessible, the width of bathroom and accessible stall doors, location of doors, height of door openers off the floor, weight of doors, presence of appropriate grab bars, the ability for a customer using a wheelchair to completely turn around in the bathroom/accessible stall, the height of the flush controls off the floor, the reachability of the sink/toilet paper/soap/drying equipment/lights, and the height of mirrors off the floor.

Details

  • There are two single-use bathrooms which are both labeled as accessible, one of them is labeled Men’s bathroom and the other Women’s bathroom - the signs have high color contrast and raised tactile characters, but no braille

  • The bathroom doors are not difficult to open force-wise, are not self-closing, do not require pinching, twisting, or grasping to open or lock, do not have a lips underneath them, have handles at accessible heights, and have openings that are 32-33 inches wide

  • The bathroom doors require pushing to get in and pulling to get out, there is not maneuvering clearance in the Men’s bathroom due to the position of the sink

  • Both bathrooms are spacious enough to allow a customer using a wheelchair to turn around, but only the Women’s bathroom (despite having a chair and a cabinet in it) has enough space to allow a full 360-degree turn for a customer using a wheelchair

  • In both bathrooms, there are 2 grab bars in the appropriate positions around the toilet, but the empty toilet paper dispensers attached to the walls are less than 12 inches above the grab bars on the side walls next to the toilets

  • The toilet paper was about 12 inches from the center of the front of the toilet at the time of our accessibility test, and is on a portable stand which other bathroom users might move

  • The lights switches are at accessible heights above the floor but are not automatic

  • The soap bottles, rolls of paper towels, top surfaces of the sink, and water controls for the sinks are all at accessible heights above the bathroom floors, but the bathroom mirrors are not

  • The bottom edge of the sink counter is 26 inches above the floor in the Men’s bathroom and 25 inches above the floor in the Women’s Bathroom

  • Underneath the sink in the Men’s Bathroom the space is 22 inches wide when the trash can is under the sink and more than 30 inches wide when it is not, while the Women’s bathroom has more than 30 inches of space underneath the sink even with the trash can underneath

  • The pipes underneath both sinks are not completely insulated

Section

Amenities

Description of Section

This includes the presence of accessibility features to make this establishment go above and beyond the accessibility of other establishments of the same type.

Details

  • Bottled water is available at an accessible height for customers

  • Employees are going or have gone through a disability etiquette training to differentiate their customer service

  • There are outlets available at accessible heights throughout the location

  • There are extra headphones for customers to use behind the teller counters which can be borrowed upon request during normal business hours for using the speech mode on the ATMs

Want to Learn More About Our Accessibility Tests?

Send an email to visitable.certification@gmail.com with subject line: "VisitAble's Accessibility Test" and tell us what specifically you would like to know and the reason why. We're happy to provide as much information as is needed to allow you to have the confidence in knowing if an establishment is accessible to you or not!

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