The “toilet circuit” – it might not sound particularly attractive, but it is the term commonly used by the music industry to describe the small independent music venues where many bands learn their trade. Whether it is the Crawdaddy Club in Richmond which hosted some of the earliest Rolling Stones gigs in 1963 or King Tut’s in Glasgow where Oasis were signed in 1993, many of the world’s leading musical artists will have started out by performing to a handful of people at venues such as these. With these venues being so popular, they should surely have disability access right?
Essential as they may be in the development of new talent for the music industry, these venues are closing at an alarming rate. It is estimated that in London alone, 35% of grassroots venues have closed in the past decade alone. For many music fans however, venues such as these often pose a significant problem – that being accessibility for the disabled.
In 2015, the BBC conducted an investigation to uncover just how accessible ten of the largest music venues in the UK actually were. They found that, of the combined 91,000 seats available, less than 1% were available for people with wheelchairs. Though the problem goes far beyond having access to seats – even if people are fortunate enough to get their hands on a ticket to see the country’s next big music star, many disabled people still struggle with disability access to the venue itself.
Despite legislation which forces businesses and venues to implement changes which make access available for all, many disabled people are still forced to make their way in through a side door or rely on complete strangers to lift them up flights of stairs. There is however some ways in which access can be improved.
Low Energy Doors for Disabled Access
Unlike high powered automatic door openers, our range of low energy doors are designed to open for longer and thus provide safe entry to both able bodied persons and those who may require more time; such as the elderly and disabled. Depending on your requirements, these doors can be supplied with a choice of activation options, including:
- Remote fobs
- Touchless pads
- Proximity access
- Touch sensitive handles
In many instances a low energy door will require no safety devices and they can be retrospectively fitted to most existing doors. This helps to make them a cost effective choice for anyone looking to create barrier free access for all of their customers.
If you would like more information about our low energy doors, please do not hesitate to get in touch. You can call us on 0845 226 2823 or drop us an email to hello@rds-doors.com.