How our club built ramps for wheelchair access

A dropped kerb can look like a small piece of public works, but for someone using a wheelchair it can determine whether a shop, library or bus stop is usable. Our club saw that gap while supporting community events and local outreach in Bendigo, then partnered with the City of Greater Bendigo to build safe, permanent ramps instead of relying on temporary boards at individual premises.

Building them required more than metal and concrete. We had to listen to wheelchair users, arrange inclusive meetings, check drainage, find funding and agree who would maintain each ramp years later. The result was a practical programme of public-space improvements that residents could use every day.

Listening before we built

We started with a walking audit rather than a shopping list of materials. Using a wheelchair and guidance from local access users, we followed the route from Bendigo Library towards the town-centre bus interchange, then checked the civic centre and a neighbourhood reserve. We photographed each obstruction, measured gradients and noted who used the route.

The ordinary difficulties became clear: a pole standing in a landing area, a drainage channel catching water, asphalt crumbling at the edge and steps with no alternative route. In Bendigo’s sloping centre and its bluestone kerbing, a technically sound detail could still fail in wet weather, so we recorded how each site behaved after rain.

Before setting budgets, we sat with wheelchair users, carers, council access staff and traders. One shopkeeper’s question was entirely practical: “Will a trolley, pram or wheelchair still get through?” Members used the phrase “a proper access fix” when the plans took shape, and that everyday language made the purpose clear. The club’s member referral program then brought a builder and two volunteers with experience in accessible paths into the team.

Turning access gaps into a works plan

Four permanent ramps at three sites gave us a manageable first phase. We chose locations where a missing connection prevented access to everyday services, rather than isolated ramps that left the rest of the journey blocked. Each design had to preserve the footpath’s drainage and clear width, which meant working around street furniture instead of simply pouring more concrete.

The principles behind our tree planting campaign offered a useful design lesson: greenery belongs in access plans, but not at the expense of usable space. In that work, root zones, irrigation and sightlines shaped where trees could go. For the ramps, the equivalent decisions involved keeping tactile paths clear, retaining safe crossfalls and preventing new soil or leaf build-up from creating a trip hazard.

Funding came from a council community-grants round, member fundraising and a Bunnings sausage sizzle. Local merchants donated materials and time, while the council’s works team scheduled labour and traffic management. That division mattered: volunteers organised, inspected and kept the project moving, but they did not cut footpaths or approve structural changes themselves.

Building for Australian conditions and standards

Our construction brief began with AS 1428, the Australian standard for access and mobility, and the council’s technical requirements. The team checked gradient, ramp width, level landings, handrails, edge protection, slip resistance and drainage against the final drawings. Where the site allowed, we used a gradient no steeper than 1:12 and adjusted the geometry rather than forcing an awkward solution into an existing kerb line.

The council required permits and traffic management, so a qualified contractor cut and formed the footpaths, installed the ramp components and restored the surface. Existing bluestone kerbs were set aside and reinstated where the heritage officer required it. We recorded the finishes, fixing details and maintenance access in the asset register, making later repairs easier than treating each ramp as an anonymous collection of metal and concrete.

Design decisions were tested with the people who would use them. Before a design workshop, we arranged sign language interpreters so members who use Auslan could join the discussion rather than receive a summary afterwards. The additional briefing made handrail height, turning space and direction of travel easier to examine. We also used taped floor layouts at the agreed scale instead of relying on printed diagrams alone.

The ramps were built in stages so each closed section had a signed, dated diversion. We checked that temporary routes led to an actual entrance and could be used without a kerb or gravel barrier. Once a section was finished, we walked it with a wheelchair user and the contractor, recorded minor adjustments and issued the final maintenance notes to council staff.

Practical lessons for future access work

A ramp can meet every drawing on day one and still become a barrier if leaves, gravel or a delivery bike blocks its landing. An early winter inspection found silt collecting where the new ramp met the channel drain. The council cleared it, but the episode changed our handover routine: each ramp now has a named maintenance contact, a simple inspection note and a route for users to report problems through the member portal.

The most valuable changes were procedural. We now separate essential access work from optional landscaping, require a full-route check before handover and keep a short record of who approved each design decision. These are modest practices, but they stop a good project from depending on the memory of one volunteer.

What worked

• Pairing each ramp with a clear, level route to an entrance rather than treating it as an isolated structure.
• Having council engineers review designs before contractors were booked.
• Using a qualified local contractor for excavation, footpath reinstatement and traffic management.
• Testing temporary routes with wheelchair users while construction was underway.
• Recording finishes, fixing details and maintenance responsibilities in one asset register.

What we would change

• Survey drainage and utility locations earlier, since late changes affected several ramp designs.
• Allow more time to consult users, especially when events and weather disrupt schedules.
• Appoint one council liaison for design approvals, site access and final handover.
• Check the entire journey, including crossings, parking and nearby footpaths, not only the ramp.
• Build a small maintenance reserve into future projects so debris and minor repairs can be handled promptly.

Together, these lessons kept our attention on use rather than installation. A ramp mattered because it connected people to services, meetings and each other, not because it appeared in a photograph at the end of the build.

A lasting measure of public access

The completed four-ramp programme connected the library precinct, council community centre and neighbourhood reserve to routes residents could use. It also left us with experienced local volunteers and clearer working relationships with council staff, reducing the uncertainty that often accompanies projects extending beyond a club meeting room.

We now share maintenance contacts, inspection dates and route information through the member portal and club newsletter, while the council retains responsibility for the public assets. At club events, the same standard applies: accessible entry, readable signs and Auslan interpreting when a participant requests it. The ramp project taught us that access is a service that must be maintained, not a one-off gift.

Our next concrete step is to hold a joint inspection with the council access officer and a wheelchair user before the next council works meeting.