Vision is by far the supreme sensory modality that benefits wayfinding and navigation, the spatial sense par excellence (Foulke, 1983) . The tasks and questions reported on in this study would have probably produced little difference in performance if applied to those with full vision. When applied to those with vision loss, however, large differences were evident, because, in the absence of vision, other cues must be used to inform people about the environment. RIAS was used in this study, because it gives the user two missing pieces of spatial information about an environment: a spoken label or identity of the signed location and a directional beam to that object. Comparisons could therefore be made between active and skilled blind people when using their regular skills and when using the increased environmental cues. This technique revealed large differences within and between blind subjects that are attributed to the increased number of accessible cues that were available. The increased efficiency of travel with RIAS implies that the difficulties exhibited by many blind travelers in new environments are caused by a lack of accessible cues and not necessarily by some inherent disadvantage in the spatial processing abilities of this group.
The results of this experiment show that, for those with vision loss, lack of information is a major barrier to independent access to urban opportunities, and that the addition of auditory cues to an urban environment can greatly reduce or eliminate these barriers. Without the use of accessible information of some sort, blind people will continue to still not have the access that they are entitled to and might continue to find it difficult to be fully functioning members of society. The empirical data and models presented here quantify the degree of limitation (or penalty) faced by vision-impaired transit users. Many of these penalties are quite large and show that many barriers still exist that restrict access to public facilities.
This experiment demonstrated that if a blind person cannot find a transit stop, navigate through a complex transfer station, or find fare machines, amenities, and doorways, they face barriers, every bit as daunting as structural barriers to equal access to transit and buildings. Freedom to travel and use of transit and other public facilities is an ongoing equity concern for planners and public agencies. Thus, since 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act has mandated equal access to transit and public buildings for all populations. Much improvement has been made in removing structural or physical barriers. However, little progress has been made in bringing better access to urban opportunities to those who have vision impairments, who face the functional barriers to access that have been identified here.
The test site examined herein had a large number of accessible cues that allowed first-time blind users to travel independently and locate necessary facilities. An accessible city would provide accessible cues to those with vision loss so that they could access public transit, buildings, and infrastructures on an area-wide scale, similar to the amount of information available at the test site. Vision-impaired people would finally be able to access all the employment, educational, recreational, cultural, and social aspects of a city while maintaining their freedom, independence, and sense of self-worth. Integrating these accessible cues and signs into a seamless and almost transparent network would allow residents and visitors to easily identify their location, safely cross streets, take public transit, make necessary transfers or mode changes, and access public buildings independently. The accessible city concept would enable blind and vision-impaired people to freely travel in the environment, even allowing independent exploration for first-time visitors to a city. Accessible cues would free a blind pedestrian from having to be taught each new route, having to count steps or blocks, and having to remember where they are at all times. As one test subject mentioned, "I finally can day dream and still know which block I am approaching, instead of keeping track of my location."
Those concerned with access and equity issues, such as blind advocacy groups, social or transit activists, architects, planners, transit providers, and city public works departments, should be able to find many data here that support the use of accessible signage as a way to remove barriers to transit use that are faced daily by the vision-impaired and to help increase accessibility to urban opportunities.
| BACK TO OVERVIEW | TABLE OF CONTENTS |