Designing for Individuals

who are visually impaired or blind

Janet M. Barlow
Accessible Design for the Blind
NACTO Designing Cities Conference
October 25, 2012
What do we mean by visually
impaired or blind?

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 2

Intersection as seen by someone
with “normal” vision

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 3

Central vision loss

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 4

Peripheral Vision Loss

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 5

Overall acuity loss

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 6

Totally blind

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 7

Pedestrians with low vision (many of
our growing elderly population)
May have difficulty with depth
perception
Problems in judging location of vehicles
Problems in judging approach speed of
vehicles
May have reduced contrast sensitivity
Difficulty reading signs and signals

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 8

How do pedestrians who are blind
or visually impaired get around?

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 9

Yes! people who are blind do travel
independently to new places
Travel to unfamiliar destinations for
shopping, errands, visiting friends,
children’s activities, work, or other
purposes, just like those who are fully
sighted
May have to figure out intersections and
intersection crossings when they arrive at
them
May be unaware of changes and may make
dangerous decisions when familiar
intersections have been changed
Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 10
Techniques and aids used by individuals
who are blind or visually impaired
Sighted (human) guide
White cane
Dog guide
Telescope or other low
vision aids
No aid

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 11

 Aids and techniques for obstacle
and curb detection
Long white
cane - used
as a probe of
the walking
surface,
identification

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 12

Aids and techniques for obstacle
and curb detection
Dog guide
Guides around
obstacles
Stops at curbs or drop-
offs
Low vision aid, such as
telescope
Used only for specific
tasks, ie reading sign

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 13

Orientation and alignment cues
Slight slopes and changes in surface textures
Specific textures that are detectable
Sidewalk and/or grass line or building line
Traffic – both parallel to travel path and
perpendicular to travel path
Accessible pedestrian signals
Other pedestrians, sun, other cues
Awareness of intersecting streets and
general layout of area
Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 14
 Street crossing tasks
Locate edge of the street
Determine where to begin crossing (locate
crosswalk)
Establish crossing direction and alignment
Determine traffic control and use
pushbutton, if necessary
Decide when to begin crossing
Maintain alignment during crossing

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 15

Traditional street crossing strategies

Walk up to corner
Maintain travel direction
Listen through a signal cycle
Cross with the surge of traffic traveling
parallel to crosswalk
Maintain direction by listening to vehicles
and other cues

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 16

Designs that make travel safer
Additional care is needed make streets
and sidewalks accessible to individuals
who are visually impaired
Sidewalk design features
Street crossings and access to information
about signals

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 17

Sidewalks

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 18

Would this sidewalk design be a problem
for someone who’s visually impaired?

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 19

How about this sidewalk for someone
who’s blind?

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 20

Clear straight sidewalk path with
grouping of furniture

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 21

Avoid obstacles (protruding objects)
that cannot be detected by cane

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 22

Tree maintenance needs attention

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 23

Barrier where crossing is closed

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 24

Street crossings

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 25

Blended transitions – can’t tell where
the plaza ends and the street begins

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 26

Add detectable warnings (truncated
domes) to indicate location of street

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 27

NOT detectable warnings

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 28

Detectable warning = truncated domes

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 29

Crosswalk offset from corner can be
problematic

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 30

Provide guidance to crosswalk

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 31

Crosswalk in line with sidewalk

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 32

Potential treatments – wayfinding
Design of
sidewalk
Tactile
features or
fences
Sound cues
from audible
signals

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 33

 Signal features intended to help
pedestrians may not be usable without
accessible pedestrian signals
LPI
Exclusive pedestrian phases, including at
midblock crossings
Protected left turns
Pedestrian pushbuttons

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 34

Traffic cues may not be available or
usable where there are:
Low volumes of traffic parallel to
crosswalk
Crossing major street
T intersections (crossing top of T)
Exclusive pedestrian phases
Leading pedestrian intervals
Heavy turning traffic volumes
Masking sounds
Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 35
 Pedestrian Pushbuttons
Is there a
pushbutton?
Where is it?
Have I found
the
pushbutton
for the street
I’m crossing?

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 36

Access may be provided by Accessible
Pedestrian Signals (APS)

Features of new APS

Speakers at the pushbutton
Pushbutton Locator tone
Audible and Vibrotactile Walk indications
Tactile arrow
Automatic volume adjustment

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 37

Pushbutton-integrated APS

Pushbutton locator
tone during FDW
and DW
Rapid tick WALK
indication

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 38

Pushbutton-integrated
APS
Pushbutton locator
tone during FDW
and DW
Speech WALK
indication

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 39

 APS Location is critical
Provide information
to the user through
proximity to the
departure point
Signal can be quieter
due to proximity

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 40

 Installation recommendations
placement
Crosswalk B
Beside the landing of
the curb ramp
Separated by more
than 10 feet from
other APS on corner
in. Nearest the
ft m
Crosswalk A 10 Pushbutton pole may
crosswalk line
be a stub pole, or may furthest from the
also support pedhead center of the
intersection

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 41

Installation example - APS aligned
with crosswalk lines

Reachable from level landing, within 10 ft

of curb, within 5 feet of crosswalk lines
Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 42
Modifications that make programs and
facilities accessible to pedestrians who
are blind or who have low vision are
helpful to ALL pedestrians

Accessible Design for the Blind, 10/25/2012, Slide 43

 Questions??

For more information, contact:

Janet M. Barlow
Accessible Design for the Blind
770-317-0611
jmbarlow@accessforblind.org