Continuous guidance routes for persons with blindness

Principal Investigator
Agneta Ståhl

Co-worker
Mai Almén

Contact
Agneta Ståhl
+46 46 222 91 32, +46 46 222 18 94
Agneta.stahl@tft.lth.se

Project Description
As part of the accessibility work in Kristianstad, Vägverket Region Skåne commissioned Lund Institute of  Technology, Department of Technology and Society to conduct a separate evaluation of the measures taken in the areas of Söder, Udden and Lastageplatsen in Kristianstad within the framework of the Project ”Let’s go for a walk” with a focus on accessibility and usability for blind people. The overall aim of this study was to investigate whether the continuous guidance routes that had been constructed in the Kristianstad region of Söder had been designed in such a way that blind people do not experience any gaps when guided along the route. The more concrete aim was to study how blind people can orient themselves by means of the guidance surfaces (natural as well as artificial ones), decision surfaces and warning surfaces constructed in Söder in Kristianstad and how blind people experience the continuous guidance routes in the area in terms of orientability, user-friendliness and safety. Thus, this study does not focus lightness contrast. A guidance route is defined as a continuous sequence of natural and artificial guidance surfaces, warning surfaces and decision surfaces all the way from the starting point to the destination, only interrupted by roadways and bicycle paths. A guidance route is not just a transport distance. Natural guidance surfaces also often function as orientation points to help you identify where you are along a route. They are also easier to orient yourself by than artificial ones, provided that no loose obstacles have been established or that vegetation is not allowed to spread freely so as to make the guidance surface difficult to access.

Since the tests were conducted in a real environment, they are realistic also in highlighting those disturbances from the traffic environment that may have an

impact on blind people’s ability to concentrate and, consequently, on their possibilities to find or follow a guidance route. The test route was designed to form a clearly marked route from a starting point to a destination point. It contains both natural and artificial guidance surfaces as well as decision and warning points and also includes an intersection with bicycle and vehicle surfaces.

In the three routes included in the Kristianstad study, the ambition was to create a continuity in the guidance. The starting point was that the natural environment should constitute the guidance surfaces, e.g. edge supports around vegetation, lawn edges, railings, walls, facades of buildings with clearly marked entrances and pavement edges as well as warning surfaces, e.g. in terms of pavement edges on crossing a roadway. The natural environment had been complemented with artificial guidance surfaces, which eliminated some of the gaps that naturally arise between natural guidance surfaces. The experiences gained from the observations as well as from the interviews showed that, on the whole, the ambition has been achieved. Nevertheless, the study also showed that a few gaps remained in the continuity between the guidance surfaces, particularly at the entrances of buildings. It should be fairly simple to adjust all of the routes in this respect.

Generally speaking, the study showed that the three routes were experienced by the test persons as varying in usability. Two of the routes were assigned a six on a 10-grade scale, whereas the third route was assigned an eight for usability. Furthermore, there was hardly anyone who, when asked explicitly, said that they would dare to walk along the low-rated routes on their own considering the difficulties that they involved, while they were somewhat more positive to the third route, where they said that they would dare to do so immediately or after some more practice.

Conclusions
The following conclusions can be drawn:

• natural guidance surfaces are superior to artificial ones in terms of providing possibilities for blind people to orient themselves in a physical environment
• atural guidance surfaces must be designed/constructed/maintained so that the cane will not get stuck
• edge support facilitates orientation along natural guidance surfaces, e.g. vegetation
• artificial guidance surfaces only function when they are adequately designed
• guidance surfaces laid so that the walking direction is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the sinus waves or ribs are difficult to identify
• artificial guidance surfaces must be considered in relation to the surrounding structures/surfaces
• slabs with flat-topped domes to complement edges for crossing a street at a zebra crossing or a pedestrian passage facilitate identification
• gaps in the guidance, even short ones, must be avoided
• avoiding gaps is important in order to guarantee that a guidance route can be safely used
• it must be possible to clearly identify raised pedestrian passages, and they must be clearly marked and easy to follow so that blind people can cross safely.

Timeline
The research started in 2005 with a first study in Kristianstad and is followed by a second study in Borlänge in 2010.

Funding Sources
The Swedish Transport Administration (Region South)
The Swedish Transport Administration

Selected Publications
Ståhl, A., Almén, M. (2007). How do blind people orient themselves along a continuous guidance route? Summary Final report. Vägverket Region Skåne, order nr. 89085.

Ståhl, A., Almén, M. (2007). Hur orienterar personer som är blinda längs ett kontinuerligt ledstråk? Vägverket Region Skåne Publ 2007:112