[Ncabs] mats for building accessibility

[Cindy Bennett]

Hi Kevin,

I agree that I pay attention to changes in the flooring and landmarks.
To find doorways, I can often hear the difference in echo when a wall
is beside me versus an open door. This becomes difficult when students
congregate outside classrooms which also makes reding the braille sign
difficult to access. Usually, when I go to the same place repeatedly,
I can sense how far I should walk. But when finding an unfamiliar
business, this is a lot more difficult. My only concern is the
difficulty of making tactile markings universal. Somehow the truncated
domes on street corners and along the edges of light rail tracks have
become universal, but I wonder if such a phenominon is possible in
private buildings. For example, if a building does contain meaningful
tactile landmarks, one would still have to learn these which makes me
wonder how useful they would be. One feature in Seattle is a more
rough flooring at the location where a bus pulls up. But this is only
done in our downtown bus tunnel and is irrelevant if a bus pulls up as
the second or third bus in line. However, it is the place where if a
blind person stands, a bus driver is required to stop and announce
their bus. How often this occurs really depends on the day though.

Cindy

On 1/21/14, Currin, Kevin <kwcurrin at live.unc.edu> wrote:
> Hello Everyone,
>
> I was walking to class a few minutes ago (I'm really early, I'm not writing
> emails in class) and was waiting until I reach a mat that would let me know
> that the door was on the right. Mats such as these are often placed in front
> of doors, potentially to allow people to clean their feet before entering a
> building. However, these are very useful landmarks if you aren't quite sure
> where the door is along a hallway or long sidewalk. The serve similar
> purposes to truncated domes that alert us when there is a curb.
>
> This made me wonder if similar floor tactile devices could be used to
> identify other areas in a building. For example, I sometimes have trouble
> finding bathrooms and stairs in buildings that I am not familiar with.
> Perhaps a certain type of mat or floor pattern could be placed in front of a
> bathroom door or the doorway to a stairwell. This seems like it would be a
> good alternative to feeling along a wall looking for a bathroom sign.
>
> What do you all think?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Kevin
>
>
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-- 
Cindy Bennett
Secretary: National Association of Blind Students

B.A. Psychology, UNC Wilmington
clb5590 at gmail.com