Handrails and balustrades
Site planning
Best practice guidance for site planning
Decision framework
There are a range of Australian Standards/best practice guidelines, relating to this category. Key documents are referenced throughout and in the LIM Handrails and balustrades - standards.
Consult with the relevant Standards and industry guidelines in the planning stage of a project.
- Pedestrian handrail: AS 1428.1:2009 Design for access and mobility Part 1: General requirements for access – New building work
- Pedestrian and cyclist handrail: Austroads Guide to Road Design Part 6A: Paths for Walking and Cycling.
Locate handrail and balustrade to facilitate the safe use of pedestrian access areas. For example, where a pathway directs pedestrians to a seawall, handrail and barrier may be required for public safety.
Australian Standards and industry guidelines provide technical details for handrail and balustrade design. Association with other embellishments will designate the required Standards and minimum requirements at locations which include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Buildings
- Pedestrian bridges
- Pedestrian pathways
- Cyclist pathways
- Walking tracks
- Playground equipment
- Revetment walls.
Site decisions
All decisions, including the location of the embellishment and related infrastructure, must be made in conjunction with council (determined by site location), including officers from such areas as:
- Council (Parks and Gardens)
- Council (Environmental Operations)
- Council (Transport Network Operations)
Users
Consult with council stakeholders, neighbouring properties and identified park users in the planning stage of a project.
Site conditions
Consider the physical characteristics of a site and requirements of the activities to be conducted:
- orientation to minimise sun impact
- location of utilities
- level surface
- flood immunity requirements.
Co-location of facilities
- Facilities, including parking and pathways, are often already established and need to be considered in the overall design.
- Include connecting pathways for universal access and provide shade where possible.
Safety
- Safety clearances must be met.
- Adopt principles of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Guidelines for Queensland. Locate handrails and balustrades to allow users to feel safe, and to provide an opportunity for casual surveillance.
Potential site conflicts
Locate handrails and balustrade away from:
- High use bikeways, busy roads and steep slopes, to avoid accidents.
- Hazards such as fire and flood prone areas, sewers and stormwater drains, underground services.
Planning for sustainability
Refer Design principles – Sustainability for guidance.
Planning for future works
- Co-locate embellishments requiring similar services e.g. water, to reduce infrastructure, where possible.
- Where underground utilities are installed, set brass markers to concrete slab edges to indicate the location.
- Consider installation of additional conduits under concrete slabs for future provision, where utilities (e.g. electrical, water) and irrigation systems are planned. Ensure additional conduit is capped to prevent ingress of water and debris.
- Consider climate change impacts on the embellishment location and construction 1.
- In coastal areas, or near waterways, design should consider rise in sea level predictions, storm tide, salt inundation and severe storm events.
- Positioning should also consider flooding, seasonal/ephemeral water bodies and water table changes.
- Near bushland areas, design should consider the occurrence of bushfires.
Source 1: Sunshine Coast Environment and Liveability Strategy 2017.
This component is currently in development