[NFBV-Potomac-Announce] FW: Seeking blind participants for a research study

[John Halverson]

Hello,



From: Joe Orozco <jsorozco at gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2026 7:09 PM
To: John Halverson <jwh100 at outlook.com>
Subject: FW: Seeking blind participants for a research study

Hi John,

Would you mind please sharing this with the chapter list?

Thanks in advance,

Joe

From: Marybeth Cleveland <mbcleveland at fastmail.net<mailto:mbcleveland at fastmail.net>>
Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2026 12:17 PM
To: Joe Orozco <jsorozco at gmail.com<mailto:jsorozco at gmail.com>>
Subject: Seeking blind participants for a research study

You can help us solve a new issue in taking the bus. Street designs continue to evolve resulting in new challenges for blind pedestrians.

Accessible Design for the Blind, working with Kittelson & Associates, is looking for volunteers who are blind to participate in a study on the accessibility of bus boarding islands in the Washington, DC, area. We want to better understand the experience and challenges of people who have little or no vision when crossing bicycle lanes to get to or from buses at bus boarding islands. Bus boarding islands are separated from the sidewalk by bicycle lanes that must be crossed to board the bus or to reach the sidewalk when exiting the bus. These islands can be of various designs, and they may have a sizeable area where one can wait for the bus, or they may have limited or no width, in which case passengers board the bus from the edge of the bike lane. These bus boarding islands let people riding bicycles use a bicycle lane that passes buses on the side away from the street, so they don't have to wait behind buses or go around them by moving into the traffic on the left side of the bus. The boarding islands reduce conflicts between bicyclists and buses and other traffic, but they introduce potential conflicts between bicyclists and pedestrians. These conflicts occur because the bus boarding islands require passengers to cross the bike lane when traveling to or from where you board the bus.

We are looking for experienced travelers who are comfortable using a long cane, who regularly travel independently outdoors, and who would be willing to participate in the research. If you decide to take part in the study, you will be asked to do several trials in which you will begin on the sidewalk or bus island, need to locate the crossing location for the bike lane, and cross the bike lane. For some of the crossings, there will be additional assistive features present at the crossing. There will be a certified orientation and mobility (O&M) specialist with you as you travel. Compensation is $75, and travel costs to get to and from the study area will be reimbursed

If you are interested in participating in this study, please call me, Marybeth Cleveland, at 301-412-4224, or email me at mbcleveland at fastmail.net<mailto:mbcleveland at fastmail.net> to get additional information and to find out if you are eligible for the study.

Feel free to share this with anyone who may be interested and who is in the Washington D.C. area.

Marybeth Cleveland
Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist
A to B and Back,
Orientation and Mobility Services, LLC
301-412-4224




-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbv-potomac-announce_nfbnet.org/attachments/20260227/0ecba68c/attachment.htm>