Entryway mats at roof terraces/ gardens and emergency staircase

Ebru - if the additional "entrances" are actually emergency exits and don't have a door handle on the outside, you do not need to install grilles. You may need grilles at the roof terraces/gardens if those are regularly used entrances into the building. It could depend on how they are used.

There should really be a LEED Interpretation/Addendum addressing this. This questions comes up on MANY projects. the unofficial word is that terraces do not need walk off mats if they are on an elevated floor and don't lead out to ground level. If anyone wants to go in on a LEED Interpretation that better defines "regularly used" entrances I would be interested.

Has there been a LEED Interpretation for elevated roof decks/terraces with no direct connection to the ground?

Still looking for some definitive direction on this question. Found nothing in LEEDv4 except that the requirement now applies to "regularly used exterior entrances" as opposed to "high traffic exterior to interior access points".  Definition on page 654 of the Reference Manual states: "Regularly used exterior entrance a frequently used means of gaining access to a building. Examples include the main building entrance as well as any building entryways attached to parking structures, underground parking garages, underground pathways, or outside spaces. Atypical entrances, emergency exits, atriums, connections between concourses, and interior spaces are not included."  Does anyone have updated information regarding entryways to/from upper level terraces?

I posed a similar question to GBCI for a LEEDv4 project with an outdoor terrace on a second floor. This was not a formal CIR or LI, just a question submitted to customer service. I received the following response from GBCI's technical team: It appears that the project would likely need to provide entryway systems at the terrace entrance in order to meet the requirements of this credit. The intent of providing entryway systems is to reduce the amount of contaminants tracked into the occupied space. Outdoor terraces, balconies and decks are directly exposed to outdoors and will therefore collect dust and contaminants. If the building entrances from such spaces will be regularly used, then these entrances must  have entryway systems for credit compliance.   According to the LEED glossary (https://www.usgbc.org/glossary/39#letterr), 'regularly used exterior entrance' is defined as 'a frequently used means of gaining access to a building. Examples include the main building entrance as well as any building entryways attached to parking structures, underground parking garages, underground pathways, or outside spaces. Atypical entrances, emergency exits, atriums, connections between concourses, and interior spaces are not included.