[nabs-l] mall travel and shops

[Ashley Bramlett]

Hi all,

So I figured malls are a fun place to be with all sorts of things to buy and eat and you can practice travel skills there in a safe closed environment.

What tips do you have for mall travel? How do you find the stores and escalators? Are escalators generally in a  middle part of the mall? That seems to be the case where I’ve been and the up escalator is opposite the down one.

I know you can just ask a random person where store x is, but that is limiting as you do not get the layout and if you go to only store x you might miss stores y and z since you were traveling to only store x. Hope that makes sense; like if I went to Bloomingdales only and did not know the other major stores I passed, I would miss say CVS and Foot locker. 

I cannot always read signs. Once I find the store, do you remember its location by associating a landmark to it? How do you identify it other than asking someone? Some stores have smells and I’ve used that as a clue; although it can be misleading as major department stores have different smells. For instance, I can smell shoes, but this might be just a shoe store or a shoe department of a larger store. It can mean two things. Another idea I thought of is using the texture change of each store. Is that a reliable clue or are stores so alike you cannot rely on it? I was thinking you could say stores A B C have a wood surface with a carpet at the entrance. Then stores D E F have smooth tile and small squares making up the tile.

Have you found it helpful to get a map and ask a sighted person to describe and/or make a tactile picture of it for you?

And, how do you know when one store ends and the next begins? They have multiple entrances sometimes. thanks!

Ashley