BCAB #1753 - Measurement of Travel Distance, Sentence 3.4.2.4.(1)

September 18, 2014

BCAB #1753

Re: Measurement of Travel Distance, Sentence 3.4.2.4.(1)

Project Description

The project is a 2 storey Group A, Division 2 club/amenity building in a residential townhouse development. The 2^nd storey is used primarily as an open hall area.

Reason for Appeal

Clause 3.4.2.1.(2)(a) permits a single exit from an unsprinklered Group A floor area of less than 150m² where the travel distance does not exceed 15 meters.   Sentence 3.4.2.4.(1) requires the travel distance to be measured along the path of travel to the exit.

Appellant's Position

The appellant contends that the code does not specify any requirements on how travel distance must be measured.  The appellant has proposed that the travel distance be measured along the exterior wall, and then travel diagonally through the center of the open hall area to the exit.  This distance is 15 meters and is measured along the path of travel to the exit.

Building Official's Position

The building official maintains that travel distance must be measured along the exterior wall and then travel in a straight line to the exit.  This orthogonal path accounts for obstructions within the floor area of the finished space.  This distance is 17m, and thus the permission in Clause 3.4.2.1.(2)(a) for a single exit does not apply.

Appeal Board Decision #1753

For the purpose of Subsection 3.4.2. "travel distance” means “the distance from any point in the floor area to an exit measured along the path of travel to the exit".  It is the determination of the Board that the method of measurement proposed by the appellant is reasonable and meets the Code’s requirements.

Lyle Kuhnert, Chair