Older people’s experiences of using tactile paving

Ormerod, MG; Newton, RA; MacLennan, HA; Faruk, M; Thies, SBA; Kenney, LPJ; Howard, D; Nester, CJ

Abstract

Tactile paving has been designed in response to the needs of vision-impaired pedestrians to be independent, mobile,
confident and safe when using the external environment. Tactile paving is not without its critics because it can
adversely affect other pedestrians particularly older people, and those with mobility impairments. Interviews were
conducted at eight selected road crossing sites in Edinburgh to determine older people’s experiences of using specific road crossings, in particular their views and experiences of using tactile paving. Two hundred participants were interviewed who were aged 65 years and older, and who appeared not to have a significant health issue or disability that was affecting their mobility. In addition, eight pedestrians who had significant mobility issues and 30 pedestrians who had moderate to severe vision impairment were interviewed. Findings demonstrate the importance of training in tactile paving for pedestrians with a vision impairment; the need for a review of the guidance on tactile paving such that greater emphasis is placed on detectability and tonal contrast, and tonal contrast; a consideration as to whether seven types of tactile paving is too many; and the need to minimise the effects of topography, particularly slope at road crossings.

Citation

Ormerod, M., Newton, R., MacLennan, H., Faruk, M., Thies, S., Kenney, L., …Nester, C. (2015). Older people’s experiences of using tactile paving. Proceedings of the ICE - Municipal Engineer, 168(1), 3-10. https://doi.org/10.1680/muen.14.00016

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Sep 1, 2015
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2015
• Deposit Date: Jan 28, 2015
• Journal: Municipal Engineer
• Print ISSN: 0965-0903
• Electronic ISSN: 1751-7699
• Publisher: Thomas Telford
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 168
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 3-10
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1680/muen.14.00016
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1680/muen.14.00016
• Related Public URLs: http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/content/serial/muen;jsessionid=3io4it4uadr3j.x-telford-live-01
• Additional Information: Funders : Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC); Projects : I'DGO; Grant Number: EP/D079640/1