Ramp Access Rail For Amusement Park
What would be scarier than a 146 foot drop doing 64 mph? Depends on who you ask but the answer may vary. If you are the owner of a roller coaster that travels at that speed, a likely answer might be that someone gets injured before they even step foot on the ride.
Fortunately for the owners of “FunSpot”, that’s something they don’t have to worry about too much.
Eric from “Funspot”, a popular amusement park in Atlanta, USA contacted our Project Specialists in Simplified Building US through their website. Eric explained all about new roller coaster they just built called the “ArieForce One”. This roller coaster is the biggest Zero G-Stall in America, including an 83-degree angle drop, equally thrilling and terrifying to all thrillseekers.
The roller coaster had already been built, and the weather was just starting to get nice, but Eric had a problem which needed to be rectified before anyone could set foot on the ride: The queuing area contained a ramp to enter the ride which was sloped and contained a few different levels.
They did not have a compliant access rail for the queuing ramp, which posed an obvious threat to those waiting to embark the ride.
Designing Custom Part M Railing
After Erics request for a quote through their website, Vadim from Simplified Building got in touch looking for a few details. As requested, Eric sent a plan view sketch including the measurements of the area he needed handrail for. Most often, this is all that is required from us in order to prepare an accurate quote.
Adam then followed up by phone and spoke to Eric to get an understanding of what was needed for the project. This area needed Part M compliant ramp railing(ADA Rail in the US). Why was this rail required? The amusement park was a public-facing business, meaning that not just this section, but all of the amusement park must adhere to ADA requirements.
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NDA Access Ramp Rail Requirements
This ramp needed a bottom rail along any section where there wasn’t any edge protection. If you notice in the picture above, the lower part does not require a bottom rail however the next two sections of the ramp do require it.
Not requiring a bottom rail would save around 15 feet of railing, which would save a good deal of money without having to sacrifice safety.
If you were looking to learn more about different NDA handrail requirements and how they could apply to your project, check out our full NDA handrail guide.
Planning Custom Part M Handrails
One problem still remained, however. As this was a completely customised solution, there would be no instruction manual. How would Eric know how to assemble the handrail once he received the materials? Although installation is not particularly difficult, it would be hard to know what goes where when its your first time installing.
Luckily, we would always send a detailed sketch of a customised handrail system using SketchUp, with all the fittings marked to show where they belong, leaving little room for confusion. Having this sketch of the system would alleviate any worries he might have that he’d be a fish out of water with the system, the very thing.
Installing Amusement Park Handrails
Once Eric received the handrail, he went straight to work installing. The pictures below demonstrate just how well the new rail system turned out. Eric did a super job putting the system together. Our fittings systems are meant to provide ease of mind with simplicity in installation, and Eric took full advantage of that, saving money on having to hire someone with specialised skills and equipment.
Below is the same empty area we showed above, with our handrail solution installed, along with the other side of the station.
After their original order, the people at FunSpot proceeded to place another handrail order 6 days later. This handrail is shown in the picture below. I called Eric and he told me everyone involved with the park were really pleased with the handrail, and they had a lot of fun putting it together.
In total, Eric used Kee Klamp components to create various separate handrails, including for a walking area, a Part M (ADA) handrail system, and even safety barriers that blocked off restricted areas which incorporated signage also.
For an amusement park like “FunSpot”, the sky is truly the limit(pardon the pun), and with the solutions we provided for them, the saying is just the same. If you need assistance with a project and you’d like someone to assist you, fill out a form on our website, and one of our more than capable team members be glad to help you with your project. Or give us a call today on 086 1408442.
Can We Help?
- Discuss your project in depth
- Friendly service
- Design advice
- Get a quote
- Or call us on 086 1408442
