Turning Space and Clear Floor Space (2010 ADA Standards 304, 305)
Two spaces that get conflated and are not the same thing. Clear floor space is where a person parks to USE something -- 30 x 48 in, and the ORIENTATION matters, so a space big enough turned the wrong way fails while looking right on a plan. Turning space is where they turn around -- a 60 in circle, or a T in a 60 in square with arms 36 in wide, each arm clear 12 in in each direction and the base 24 in. The alcove rules get skipped entirely: a parallel-approach nook deeper than 15 in must be 60 in wide, DOUBLE the bare 30, which is why an appliance squeezed between two walls fails where the same one on an open wall passes.
Formula and source
clear floor space 30 in x 48 in minimum, oriented so the 48 in runs toward the element on a forward approach and along it on a parallel approach. Alcove: where confinement exceeds 24 in (forward) the width must be 36 in minimum; where it exceeds 15 in (parallel) the width must be 60 in minimum. Turning space: a 60 in diameter circle, or a T within a 60 in square with arms and base 36 in wide minimum, each arm clear 12 in minimum in each direction and the base clear 24 in minimum.
2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, 304.3.1, 304.3.2, 304.4, 305.3, 305.5, 305.7.1, and 305.7.2. A US federal standard in the public domain, quoted directly.
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