Accessible Pedestrian Signals: A Guide to Best Practices (Workshop Edition 2010) (2011) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 13-24
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From page 13... ...
Accessible Pedestrian Signals: A Guide to Best Practice 13 Chapter 2: Travel by Pedestrians Who are Blind or Who Have Low Vision CHAPTER SUMMARY Th is chapter provides demographic information about individuals who are blind or who have low vision, and information about types of vision loss. Travel techniques are explained and the eff ect of changes in traffi c control and signalization on the travel of pedestrians who are blind or visually impaired is discussed.
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From page 14... ...
14 Chapter 2: Travel by Pedestrians Who are Blind or Who Have Low Vision Blindness and Vision Loss DEFINITIONS Visual impairment: a functional limitation in seeing, including both those with: • "non-severe limitation" ("diffi culty seeing words and letters") and • those with "severe limitation" ("unable to see words and letters")
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From page 15... ...
Accessible Pedestrian Signals: A Guide to Best Practice 15 REDUCED ACUITY Th e picture below represents a street crossing as it might be seen by a person with general reduced visual acuity. An overall loss of acuity, sensitivity to glare, and loss of contrast sensitivity is common in the elderly population.
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From page 16... ...
16 Chapter 2: Travel by Pedestrians Who are Blind or Who Have Low Vision PERIPHERAL FIELD LOSS Individuals with peripheral fi eld loss, sometimes referred to as tunnel vision, may see details directly in front of them clearly, but have diffi culty with objects and signs off to the side. In addition, depth perception is often impaired.
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From page 17... ...
Accessible Pedestrian Signals: A Guide to Best Practice 17 PREVALENCE OF BLINDNESS Diff erent sources provide diff erent estimates of the prevalence of blindness in the U.S. Th ere is no registry of individuals with vision loss in the U.S.
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From page 18... ...
18 Chapter 2: Travel by Pedestrians Who are Blind or Who Have Low Vision Travel Tools and Techniques of People Who are Blind or Who Have Low Vision SEVERAL CHOICES People who are blind or visually impaired make choices when it comes to traveling. At any given time, they can travel using a human guide, which involves holding onto someone's arm; using a long, white cane to identify and avoid obstacles or elevation changes; using a dog guide; using special optical or electronic aids; or using no additional aid.
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From page 19... ...
Accessible Pedestrian Signals: A Guide to Best Practice 19 NO AID Not all persons considered blind use a long white cane or dog guide. People who are visually impaired often rely on their remaining sight and auditory and tactile cues in their surroundings for orientation and travel.
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From page 20... ...
20 Chapter 2: Travel by Pedestrians Who are Blind or Who Have Low Vision Orientation is the ability to understand where one is located in space and Mobility refers to being able to travel through that space safely. Th e goal of most O&M training is to prepare a person who is visually impaired to travel in a variety of environments, both familiar and unfamiliar, and to assess new intersections and travel new routes.
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From page 21... ...
Accessible Pedestrian Signals: A Guide to Best Practice 21 How People Who are Blind or Visually Impaired Cross Streets TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES Techniques and cues used in crossing streets are diverse and vary by the type of location and by the individual and his or her level of vision. Individuals who are blind or visually impaired often travel to unfamiliar areas and intersections and gather information from available sources in order to do so safely.
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From page 22... ...
22 Chapter 2: Travel by Pedestrians Who are Blind or Who Have Low Vision • Th is information is only occasionally provided in any accessible format. • Pedestrians who are visually impaired develop a mental map and keep track of where they are within that map, usually by counting blocks and street crossings.
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From page 23... ...
Accessible Pedestrian Signals: A Guide to Best Practice 23 pushbuttons. Missing information for any of these questions may result in failure to use pedestrian pushbuttons, not beginning the crossing during the WALK interval, not completing the crossing before perpendicular traffi c begins moving, and crossing at times other than the pedestrian phase.
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From page 24... ...
24 Chapter 2: Travel by Pedestrians Who are Blind or Who Have Low Vision Changes in the Travel Environment TYPES OF CHANGES In the past twenty years, signifi cant changes in intersection geometry, signalization, driver behavior, and the technology of automobiles have aff ected the ability of blind travelers in the United States to use the above-mentioned techniques. INTERSECTION DESIGN CHANGES AND THEIR EFFECT ON TRAVEL TECHNIQUES • Wider streets require more precise alignment.
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