Tactile paving surfaces can be used to convey important information to visually impaired pedestrians about their environment, such as warnings about hazards, guidance for directions, or information about amenities. However, pedestrian crossing closures are still indicated solely by official signs. Currently there are no low maintenance, cost effective, industry standard treatments for tactilely indicating closed pedestrian crossings. WSDOT is testing a proof-of-concept application in a Seattle neighborhood in partnership with Seattle DOT and The Lighthouse for the Blind. For this project, researchers will take advantage of that closed crossing treatment and pilot test location to evaluate such treatments and develop a set of guidelines that WSDOT can use to determine their frequency, their best locations, and the types of surface treatments and materials that should be used.
Principal Investigator: Anat Caspi, Computer Science and Engineering, UW
Sponsor: WSDOT
WSDOT Technical Monitor: Jay Wells
WSDOT Project Manager: Jon Peterson
Scheduled completion: January 2024