Site furnishings is the trade term for the furniture and fixtures placed outdoors in parks, plazas, campuses, streetscapes and transit stops: benches, tables and chairs, picnic tables, trash and recycling receptacles, planters and bike racks. They stay outdoors in every season, so the request has to say how each piece is mounted and what it sits on.
What a request can include
- Benches, backed or backless, freestanding or anchored.
- Bistro tables and chairs for plazas and café seating areas.
- Picnic tables, including tables with an open end or a cut-out for a wheelchair.
- Trash and recycling receptacles, planters and bike racks.
- Shade structures and umbrellas.
Accessibility rules for picnic tables and benches
The detailed federal rules for picnic tables and outdoor benches are in the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) Accessibility Standards. Section F201.4 applies them only to facilities that federal agencies build or alter, or that others build on federal land on behalf of a federal agency. The U.S. Access Board’s guide to that chapter says the outdoor rules are not part of the 2010 ADA Standards and have no legal effect on state and local governments and private entities, which can use them as guidance.
Where they apply, the rules set these numbers:
| Rule | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Picnic units, F245.2.2 | Where a picnic area has more than two picnic units, at least 20 percent of them, and not less than two, have to provide mobility features |
| Wheelchair spaces, 1011.4.2 | At least one wheelchair space for each 24 linear feet of usable table surface perimeter |
| Size of each wheelchair space, 1011.4.2 | 30 by 48 inches minimum, for a forward approach, with knee and toe clearance under the table |
| Table height, 1011.4.1 | 28 to 34 inches to the top of the table, the same as section 902.3 |
| Clear ground space, 1011.2.1 | 36 inches on all usable sides of a picnic table, measured from the back edge of the benches |
For a park, plaza or campus that a city, county, school district or private owner builds, ask the project’s landscape architect or the local building official which rules apply. Section 903 of the 2010 ADA Standards sets the size, height and back support of a bench where the standards require one, such as in a locker room, and the guide to accessible tables, counters and benches lists those dimensions.
Standards for outdoor seating and shade
ASTM F1838 sets performance requirements for adult and children’s plastic chairs for outdoor use, with tests for weathering, impact and static load. ASTM F3512 sets procedures for testing and rating the wind safety and durability of market umbrellas. For cushions or slings, the Association for Contract Textiles guideline for woven outdoor fabric includes lightfastness, a measure of how well color resists fading in light, of Grade 3 minimum after 1,000 hours of testing.
What to send with a site furnishings request
- The quantity of each piece and a site plan, or a list of locations.
- The surface each piece sits on, such as concrete, pavers or turf, and whether it is surface-mounted, embedded in a footing or freestanding.
- Material and color, such as powder-coated steel, aluminum, recycled plastic lumber or wood.
- The agency or owner’s specification, if one exists, and whether the site is on federal land.
The checklist for a quote request goes through each detail.