How to design streets for everyone (Universal Design)
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Date: 2021-07-15
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Comments and reviews: 9
wclifton968
In the UK, most crossings have yellow tiles with a specific pattern of studs which tells the blind/partially blind where a crossing is and it faces the road while at Traffic Lights the crossings use red street tiles or dark-grey tiles with a specific pattern while the pedestrian crossing button box has a piece of plastic underneath which spins when the Green man is lit and in town centres some of these crossings play a 'beeping sound' when also on a green man while on the road, there are studs which guide the blind/partially blind in the right direction of the crossing; at Zebra crossings there is a flashing yellow Belisha Beacon to indicate the crossing to drivers while there are the same yellow tiles on the pavement with white stipes being painted on the road to help indicate to drivers that it is a crossing if the belisha beacons aren't flashing and it also directs the blind/partially blind in the right direction because the markings are slightly raised from the ashphalt surface.
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In the UK, most crossings have yellow tiles with a specific pattern of studs which tells the blind/partially blind where a crossing is and it faces the road while at Traffic Lights the crossings use red street tiles or dark-grey tiles with a specific pattern while the pedestrian crossing button box has a piece of plastic underneath which spins when the Green man is lit and in town centres some of these crossings play a 'beeping sound' when also on a green man while on the road, there are studs which guide the blind/partially blind in the right direction of the crossing; at Zebra crossings there is a flashing yellow Belisha Beacon to indicate the crossing to drivers while there are the same yellow tiles on the pavement with white stipes being painted on the road to help indicate to drivers that it is a crossing if the belisha beacons aren't flashing and it also directs the blind/partially blind in the right direction because the markings are slightly raised from the ashphalt surface.
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cypothingy
Beyond the street there s the issue of ADA-compliance in public transportation. Anyone that s spent anytime on the NYC Subways will know that almost none of the stations have any elevators for people that need them despite them being required under the ADA. However, the ADA included a loophole that, if memory serves, says something along the lines of If the station or platform is not in compliance then when any work in which more than 10% of the area is altered then the area must be brought to compliance. This is why many of NYC s stations, both underground and elevated, look practically the same as they did 35-40 years ago, albeit with small and minor adjustments. The cost of retrofitting every platform and station to be ADA-compliant would be quite large, so the MTA only does work in piecemeal, or not at all, to avoid having to comply with the ADA. That s why you have things like abandoned platforms in some stations, namely 242nd St-Van Cortlandt Park on the 1 Line.
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Beyond the street there s the issue of ADA-compliance in public transportation. Anyone that s spent anytime on the NYC Subways will know that almost none of the stations have any elevators for people that need them despite them being required under the ADA. However, the ADA included a loophole that, if memory serves, says something along the lines of If the station or platform is not in compliance then when any work in which more than 10% of the area is altered then the area must be brought to compliance. This is why many of NYC s stations, both underground and elevated, look practically the same as they did 35-40 years ago, albeit with small and minor adjustments. The cost of retrofitting every platform and station to be ADA-compliant would be quite large, so the MTA only does work in piecemeal, or not at all, to avoid having to comply with the ADA. That s why you have things like abandoned platforms in some stations, namely 242nd St-Van Cortlandt Park on the 1 Line.
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Sylvia
FYI, as an autistic person; the vast majority of us prefer to be called autistic people, not people on the autism spectrum (and nvr people with autism.
Its similar to why Deaf folks ask for others to not say people with deafness or people with hearing impairment, but instd say Deaf people. (Same with Blind folks; and why many disabled folks prefer to be called disabled people, not people with disabilities)
The problem with all those other ways of wording it is that its meant to humanize us or remind people that we're human. but it doesnt do that at all. It others us and treats our differences as a trait that is less human. Ya wudnt say someone is a person with gayness or a person on the LGBTQ+ spectrum or a person on the nonbinary spectrum; so the same goes for these immutable parts of ourselves like being autistic or Deaf or Blind.
For the same reasons you shud say wheelchair user and not person in a wheelchair or wheelchair bound person.
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FYI, as an autistic person; the vast majority of us prefer to be called autistic people, not people on the autism spectrum (and nvr people with autism.
Its similar to why Deaf folks ask for others to not say people with deafness or people with hearing impairment, but instd say Deaf people. (Same with Blind folks; and why many disabled folks prefer to be called disabled people, not people with disabilities)
The problem with all those other ways of wording it is that its meant to humanize us or remind people that we're human. but it doesnt do that at all. It others us and treats our differences as a trait that is less human. Ya wudnt say someone is a person with gayness or a person on the LGBTQ+ spectrum or a person on the nonbinary spectrum; so the same goes for these immutable parts of ourselves like being autistic or Deaf or Blind.
For the same reasons you shud say wheelchair user and not person in a wheelchair or wheelchair bound person.
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Deldarel
Normally I'm not this pedantic to correct someone's pronunciation, but considering this is probably a world you'll use more often, I'll have to correct this word.
'woonerf' combines the two words 'woon' and 'erf'. Because of this, both syllables have emphasis. Best practice is to separate the two parts with a short glottal stop. If you don't, that's fine too. For us in the Netherlands it depends on our talking speed whether we do that or not.
The 'oo' is like the 'ow' in 'own'. The 'e' is like in 'men'.
If it turns out 'wuhnurf' is actually how you pronounce this word in the USA, I hope you'll still choose to use the Dutch pronunciation when possible. All sounds appear similarly enough in English as well. To me 'wuhnurf' just sounds so unappealing and that's exactly what you don't want for such a good solution to traffic.
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Normally I'm not this pedantic to correct someone's pronunciation, but considering this is probably a world you'll use more often, I'll have to correct this word.
'woonerf' combines the two words 'woon' and 'erf'. Because of this, both syllables have emphasis. Best practice is to separate the two parts with a short glottal stop. If you don't, that's fine too. For us in the Netherlands it depends on our talking speed whether we do that or not.
The 'oo' is like the 'ow' in 'own'. The 'e' is like in 'men'.
If it turns out 'wuhnurf' is actually how you pronounce this word in the USA, I hope you'll still choose to use the Dutch pronunciation when possible. All sounds appear similarly enough in English as well. To me 'wuhnurf' just sounds so unappealing and that's exactly what you don't want for such a good solution to traffic.
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Disa
I hate my local intersection. Cars honk even when they have a red and I have priority. It's honestly annoying because 1. I refuse to run across a street, especially in Iowa where they have potholes, gaps, and cracks and 2. I have the right of way. :/
I get VERY overwhelmed sometimes walking, as I live near an airport and highway, so sometimes the sounds make it hard to see if that makes sense. So I normally wear headphones. I HATE having people honk because I stop and look around first, then they honk more. I personally think everyone should have to take pedestrian and bike safety classes as drivers, because THEY'RE the ones that can hurt us.
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I hate my local intersection. Cars honk even when they have a red and I have priority. It's honestly annoying because 1. I refuse to run across a street, especially in Iowa where they have potholes, gaps, and cracks and 2. I have the right of way. :/
I get VERY overwhelmed sometimes walking, as I live near an airport and highway, so sometimes the sounds make it hard to see if that makes sense. So I normally wear headphones. I HATE having people honk because I stop and look around first, then they honk more. I personally think everyone should have to take pedestrian and bike safety classes as drivers, because THEY'RE the ones that can hurt us.
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Sylvia
I recently moved to KCMO and found out they stick electrical poles/telephone poles in the literal middle of the sidewalks here.
Its such atrocious design that i feel shud not be allowed but then again. Most the roads dont even have sidewalks here cuz they dont require them >. >
In Salem OR where i moved from the sidewalks may be in disrepair, but they at least were there and werent obstructed unless obstructed by jerks that lived next to them (Leaving their trash cans literally on the sidewalk instd of on the side of the street like they need to)
KCMO is literally unwalkable
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I recently moved to KCMO and found out they stick electrical poles/telephone poles in the literal middle of the sidewalks here.
Its such atrocious design that i feel shud not be allowed but then again. Most the roads dont even have sidewalks here cuz they dont require them >. >
In Salem OR where i moved from the sidewalks may be in disrepair, but they at least were there and werent obstructed unless obstructed by jerks that lived next to them (Leaving their trash cans literally on the sidewalk instd of on the side of the street like they need to)
KCMO is literally unwalkable
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Mike
I really love the way of designing streets for everyone and not only for cars.
There are even more ways to increase the safety for pedastrians. In the Netherlands, for instance, there are extra spaces for turning cars to see pedastrians and cyclists. Dutch cities are even retrofitted with different grids and street designes, depending on who the street should be using: There are different grids for cyclists, pedestrians, public transit and motor vehicle traffic. The concept there is not car free, but car light.
Fortunately, they take these concepts at heart at my city one day.
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I really love the way of designing streets for everyone and not only for cars.
There are even more ways to increase the safety for pedastrians. In the Netherlands, for instance, there are extra spaces for turning cars to see pedastrians and cyclists. Dutch cities are even retrofitted with different grids and street designes, depending on who the street should be using: There are different grids for cyclists, pedestrians, public transit and motor vehicle traffic. The concept there is not car free, but car light.
Fortunately, they take these concepts at heart at my city one day.
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BonBonAdios
There are lawyers who team up with disabled people and go scouting for businesses that may have the bathroom sink 1 inch too high and sue them into bankruptcy. Many small and independent businesses have been shuttered thanks to predatory lawyers and the ridiculous ADA. ADA reqs can cost businesses tens of thousands of dollars to be in compliance which is unrealistic and serves to oppress entrepreneurs and small business owners. These lawyers are getting filthy rich by scamming everyone. Get the government OUT and end the ADA.
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There are lawyers who team up with disabled people and go scouting for businesses that may have the bathroom sink 1 inch too high and sue them into bankruptcy. Many small and independent businesses have been shuttered thanks to predatory lawyers and the ridiculous ADA. ADA reqs can cost businesses tens of thousands of dollars to be in compliance which is unrealistic and serves to oppress entrepreneurs and small business owners. These lawyers are getting filthy rich by scamming everyone. Get the government OUT and end the ADA.
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D h
The perfect street should also have designated spaces for cyclists unless cars are traveling at really slow speeds.
In stead of having the curb come out into the intersection you van also opt for making a centre island so cyclists and people walking only have to cross and deal with traffic one way at a time and giving them a breather in the middle of the street.
Last roundabouts are a great way to increase throughput while also slowing down traffic making it safer for pedestrians cyclists and motorists.
reply
The perfect street should also have designated spaces for cyclists unless cars are traveling at really slow speeds.
In stead of having the curb come out into the intersection you van also opt for making a centre island so cyclists and people walking only have to cross and deal with traffic one way at a time and giving them a breather in the middle of the street.
Last roundabouts are a great way to increase throughput while also slowing down traffic making it safer for pedestrians cyclists and motorists.
reply
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