Planning for pedestrians with vision impairment into the mainstream. Marcus Bleechmore, Vision Australia Duane Burtt, Victoria Walks

Transcription

1 Planning for pedestrians with vision impairment into the mainstream Marcus Bleechmore, Vision Australia Duane Burtt, Victoria Walks

2 Introduction Vision Australia Who are we? National provider 28 offices, 39 outreach centres, 800+ staff, 4,000+ volunteers, 32,000+ consumers Full range of blindness services allied health, early education, seeing eye dogs, accessible information and library, advocacy Victoria Walks Small, independent walking health promotion charity Work with government agencies, councils, schools and other orgs to get more people walking every day.

3 Introduction Overview - Today s presentation Origin and need Evidence Awareness Tools Findings and Next Steps

4 Origin and need Crash statistics death (1,400/pa) and serious (hospitalised) injury (32,500/pa) (Nat. Road Strategy ) Over-representation 3 main road user groups (Vulnerable road users) motorcyclists, cyclist and pedestrians Pedestrians (3 subgroups) under 14yo, intoxicated, over 65yo National/State policy and programs respond to crash statistics which is a problem if you re A: not recording certain information, or B: a relatively small component of the population Blindness ABS data 357,000 Australians are blind or have low vision (relatively small numbers compared to overall road users) 6/12 visual acuity, automatic loss of licence, rely on walking/public transport safety traditionally about retrofitting existing environment with TGSIs and audio tactiles.

5 Evidence Intuitive/anecdotal evidence suggested pedestrians with vision impairment at higher risk of death/serious injury Sector collaboration Vision Australia, Blind Citizens Australia and Guide Dogs Victoria Funding from Transport Accident Commission and Victorian Community Road Safety Partnership Program Commissioned Monash University Accident Research Centre to understand the decision making processes and experiences of pedestrians with vision impairment 600+ people with vision impairment interviewed Orientation and Mobility focus groups

6 Key findings Evidence (2) 1 in 12 (7.9%) reported being in a collision, while 1 in 5 (19.5%) reported being in near collision in past 5 yrs 1 in 4 (24.1%) of collisions/near collisions were with bicycles 1 in 3 (29.2%) of collisions occurred on footpath Traffic environment Confidence (%) Very Somewhat Not Non-signalised intersection Signalised crossing Roundabouts Traffic islands Cyclists

7 Evidence (3) So what? Awareness and Education

8 Awareness Vision Australia applied for subsequent support to undertake awareness and education activity based on research Orientation and Mobility specialists developed content for animation, brochures and posters Overall theme I might not see you, but you can always see me Materials provide tips for people with vision impairment & the general road user community on how to identify and behave, and also to senior drivers who are more likely to be having issues with vision but are reluctant to forfeit their licence Online resources at

9 I might not see you

10

11 Tools We know there are significant multiple safety and community access issues related to roads and footpaths BUT - How to identify and record issues in a way that is robust, acceptable to road safety authorities and councils We wanted something which a member of the general public could easily use to map their local areas! With a 3 rd year of road safety funding, Vision Australia commissioned Victoria Walks to help us We selected 5 local areas where we knew people with vision impairment were active around service sites where we have staff and clients accessing centres

12 Audit tool Tool to assess safety of road environments for people with vision impairment. Inputs: Literature review Working group of blindness experts Specialist traffic engineer Road safety auditor.

13 Audit tool Introduction explains issues facing walkers with impaired vision.

14 tool

15 Audit tool Detailed checklists: Signalised intersections and crossings Non-signalised Paths and public transport stops. Tips on reporting.

16 Site audits Vision Australia co-ordinated street audits by volunteers. Three areas of Melbourne, two in Geelong, around VA or Guide Dogs Victoria offices. Many site specific issues.

17 Site audits Tripping hazards and obstructions on footpath, eg shop sandwich boards, outdoor dining, overhead branches

18 Site audits Poor ramp alignment

19 Site audits Missing or damaged TGSI. Audio tactiles not working properly.

20 Site specific survey Very specific and tightly controlled survey small sample (62). Top 3 overall concerns: Answer Options Difficulty in judging whether it is safe to cross the road. Obstructions or tripping hazards on footpaths. Crossing at intersections where there are no traffic lights or at roundabouts. Not a problem Minor problem Significant problem 13% 45% 43% 18% 49% 33% 29% 33% 38% Many said they did not cross at non-signalised intersections (47%) or mid-block crossings (46%) in the study areas.

21 Lessons for design Traffic lights best for walkers who are vision impaired, but may not be financially viable or optimal for other road users. Some ped-oriented design may have limited value to walkers with vision impairment.

22 Lessons for design Challenge of shared space

23 Art or obstacle course? Lessons for design

24 Lessons for design If it s bad for walkers generally, it s worse for vision impaired. I cannot be sure whether cars swinging round the roundabout are going along Main St/Nepean Hwy or are turning into McDonald St. If I guess wrong, I get abuse from drivers as well as a fright. In Pakenham where I live, there is a roundabout right in the middle of the main shopping area For me and many others who are elderly or disabled, this roundabout virtually makes it impossible to move about to shops and other businesses with any ease.

25 Lessons for design Raised crossing (City of Yarra). Measures that don t have signals need to reduce traffic speed and reinforce give way.

26 Lessons for design Raised threshold (City of Boroondara). Good for crossing side streets along arterial roads. These measures also great for other walkers. Design invokes intuitive response from drivers that reinforces the law.

27 Future challenge Significant, growing population of seniors A female born in 2012 will on average live for an estimated 94.4 years (Productivity Commission 2013). Number of Australians who are blind or have low vision by age As we age, we lose our sight Incidence of blindness and low vision by age 30-39yo 1 in yo 1 in yo 1 in yo 1 in yo 1 in yo 1 in yo 1 in 7 Australians Source Australian Bureau of Statistics, ABS Survey of Disability and Carers

28 Conclusion Planning for vision impaired pedestrians: Will be increasingly important in the future. Can be integrated into mainstream pedestrian oriented design. National Disability Insurance Scheme will see greater numbers of people with disability (460,000 Australians) seeking access to community activity More info available at: