Figure 1, SWOMA 2017 Logo showing a stick figure women with a cane, stick figure man with a dog guide, a compass with braille letters N, S, E, W, and Conference title of "Exploring Changing Times"

2017 SWOMA Conference

Region 4 ESC Houston, TX

October 20-21, 2017

Street Crossings for Travelers Who are Visually Impaired

Presented by,

Linda Myers, COMS

Wendy Scheffers, COMS

Street Crossing for Travelers Who are Visually Impaired

Linda Myers, TVI/COMS, Marin County Office of Education

and Wendy Scheffers, COMS, San Francisco State University

Slide 1, TAPS 3rd Edition

Part 4: Supplement

Street Crossings for Travelers Who are Visually Impaired

Linda Myers, COMS

Wendy Scheffers, COMS

Slide 2, Why

  • Lowers the inherent risk in crossing streets
  • Better ability to travel independently in familiar and unfamiliar areas
  • Less need for mobility instruction in future

Slide 3, Contents

  1. Intersection Analysis, 7
  2. Street Crossings, 117
  3. Scanning to Monitor Traffic, 205
  4. Additional Tools, 231
  5. References, 255
  6. Glossary, 257

Slide 4, Intersection Analysis Section

  • Four quick references
  • Analysis and street crossing charts
  • Reducing the rist at street crosssings
  • Crossing an uncontrolled street
  • Understanding signalized intersections
  • Channelized right-turn lanes and circular intersections

Slide 5, Reducing Risk at Street Crossings

Figure 1, small, thumbnail photos of slides coming up next

Slide 6, Street Crossings

Figure 2,A sports car driving on an open road about to run over a slippery banana peel

Slide 7, Photo/Image Slide

Figure 3, A graphic of a shared use path with a bicyclist waiting with a vehicle at a traffic light =

Slide 8, Photo/Image Slide

Figure 4, A mother riding a bike with her child in a toddler seat, they are ring in a bike lane alongside vehicles

Slide 9, Image Slide

Figure 5, Close up view of yield line, basically five triangles side by side across the lane; the bases of the triangles are face up, towards the crosswalk or as if the apex of each triangle is pointing toward approaching. Photo also includes the text “Yield Line”.

Figure 6, Yield Lines at Unsignalized Crosswalk, Two-Way Traffic is title of image; displays, lanes approaching a pedestrian crossing and about two car lengths before crosswalk there is a yield line as described in image 5 and the striping between lanes changes from a dashed line to solid line.

Slide 10, Photo Slide

Figure 7, A photograph of a striped pedestrian crossing, also showing the vehicle lane approaching with a stripes oriented perpendicular to direction of vehicle direction to highlight caution and yielding.

Slide 11, Photo Slide

Figure 8, Photo of a pedestrian crossing a two-lane road divided by a developed median with a paved walkway through the middle of the median. The limit lines for the vehicles are off set so the pedestrian walkway through the center of the median is a small zig zag.

Slide 12, HAWK

Figure 9, Photograph of pedestrian crossing a multi-lane roadway with controlled by a HAWK light, also called a Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon.

Slide 13, Bulb-outs (Google FHWA bulb-out)

Figure 10, Graphic showing a bulb-out at a corner; the bulb-out extends into roadway at the corner and extends to block the width of one vehicle land. Notes include- Curb radius: as determined by design vehicle, Length: at least 5’ beyond extension of the corner property line, Width: as determined by adjacent lanes.

Slide 14, Photo slide

Figure 11, Aerial photopgraph of urban community with modernized traffic engineering solution to minimize traffic congestion and keep the main street flowing where possible. The entrances to driveways are set off on a separate lane and divided by a median from the main roadway.

Slide 15, Intersections are changing. Be involved so they are safer for ALL (all in all caps) pedestrians!

Figure 12, Aerial photograph of large volume intersection and an adjacent roundabout.

Slide 16, Photo slide

Figure 13, Closer view of the intersection described in Figure 12.

Slide 17, Unfamiliar Intersections

Blind Traveler

Turn to TAPS 8-29

Handouts 14-15

Slide 18, Familiar Intersections

Blind Traveler

Turn to Handouts 16-17

Slide 19, Signalized Crossings

Turn to TAPS 162-164

Handout 18

Exceptions to the Near Parallel Timing: TAPS 175-190

Slide 20, Charting

Blind Traveler

Turn to Handouts 19-20

Figure 13, Image of handout of Analysis and Street Crossing Chart for Travel Who is Functionally Blind

Slide 21, Channelized Turn Lanes

CTL’s

Turn to TAPS 191-197

Figure 14, Graphic of channelized turn lane at an intersection. Shows the channelized right turn lane with the pedestrian crosswalk area. It is labeled Upstream Street where vehicles enter the channelized lane, and Downstream Street where they exit the channelized land and merge with the new street.

Slide 22, Question?

Slide 23, Thank you!

SWOMA Sponsors

Region 4 Education Service Center (ESC), Houston

Figure 15, Region 4, ESC logo.

Texas School for the Blind & Visually Impaired

Outreach Programs, Austin, TX

Figure 16, TSBVI logo.

Street Crossings for Travelers Who are Visually Impaired, SWOMA 20171