Innovations in Accessibility
Jun 11, 2024
As communities work to improve safety for pedestrians through roadway design and countermeasures, it is important to consider and integrate solutions that address the mobility and accessibility needs for all. Specific designs, including tactile walking surface indicators, increase safety and enhance wayfinding in public rights-of-way for pedestrians with vision disabilities, especially on roads that may have features that are confusing, misleading, or lacking in tactile or audible information for wayfinding. This webinar will offer new, research-based recommendations for making complex intersections, floating boarding islands, separated bicycle lanes at sidewalk level, open plazas, and quick-build sidewalk extensions accessible to pedestrians with vision disabilities. Panelists will provide an overview of traditional practices and approaches used by pedestrians with visual impairments to navigate roads and how these can be supplemented by additional tactile information for wayfinding.
Panelists will present new research on tactile walking surface indicators in multimodal environments, including their detectability, integration into guidance systems, and recommendations for implementation. Following their presentations, panelists will respond to questions from attendees during a facilitated discussion period.
Panelists
- Billie Louise (Beezy) Bentzen, Accessible Design for the Blind
- Alan Scott, Accessible Design for the Blind
Webinar Resources
