Accessible ‘Tactile Walking Surface Indicators’ Pilot Project Underway to Help People with Disabilities Navigate the City

SDOT Director Greg Spotts learns about the experiences of people with vision disabilities while using the white cane of Marci Carpenter, President of the Seattle Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind, during a field visit last fall. Photo: SDOT

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At-a-glance:

We’re piloting several ‘Tactile Walking Surface Indicator’ treatments to help people with vision disabilities travel in Seattle with greater predictability and comfort.
Our pilot project focuses on a new type of treatment – a trapezoid-shaped ‘Tactile Warning Delineator’ that will create a rollable edge treatment to support non-visual, tactile navigation for people with vision disabilities.
As we deploy these treatments in Seattle this summer, we’ll observe how they’re performing and conduct real-world testing with people with disabilities, in partnership with several local disabilities-focused organizations.
We plan to test and collect feedback in late summer 2024, with the first pilot location in the University District. Click here to see photos of the new tactile elements we’ve installed in the U District.
If you have any questions, you can reach our Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Program team at DOT_ADAProgram@seattle.gov or visit our website.
We also fund the Outdoors for All adaptive cycling program for people of all ages and abilities to enjoy biking in Seattle. Learn more about the program on our blog and consider participating this summer.

We’re committed to making Seattle more accessible, welcoming, and comfortable for all people, including people with disabilities. In support of this work, we’re continuing to pilot new and emerging tactile treatments. This includes specialized Tactile Walking Surface Indicators to support people who are blind, DeafBlind, or have low vision, particularly folks who use white canes to navigate the city. We’re excited to launch this pilot effort, building off existing tactile treatments, and introducing a new treatment detailed in this blog post.

Definition: Tactile Walking Surface Indicator

Tactile Walking Surface Indicator is a term used to describe physical treatments that support non-visual navigation and provide wayfinding, edge treatments, and hazard cues for people with vision disabilities.

Purpose of the pilot project:

Introduce a new type of treatment to our accessible wayfinding toolbox, known as a Tactile Warning Delineator, a trapezoid-shaped pedestrian surface treatment that acts as a cane-detectable edge.
Focus the pilot on this new treatment in a site-specific context where a mix of travel modes exists, including parallel and/or perpendicular crossing movements.
Incorporate combinations of treatments together to gather feedback on detectability and how different people experience the treatments, including people with mobility disabilities, cyclists, and shared mobility users who may encounter these elements next to bike facilities.
Determine best practices for application details, such as different colors and contrast with the surrounding materials, transitions between different types of treatments, as well as other operational and/or environmental considerations such as breaks in the treatment for drainage purposes.
Develop new standards and best practices for consistent application of these treatments around Seattle.

We expect the types of treatments we’re installing to help people who are blind, DeafBlind, or with low vision more predictably navigate our streets and get where they need to go. For example, when bike facilities and pedestrian paths are next to each other, these treatments can help define where one path starts and the other ends. When these paths are located near transit stops (like a bus station, light rail station, or the streetcar), the treatments can help people navigate the area without coming into conflict with other modes of travel.

Here are the three types of treatments we plan to install and test this summer.

1) Tactile Warning Delineator – a raised, linear trapezoid surface edge treatment

Photo of a tactile warning delineator along a bike path and sidewalk area. The treatment is a raised white shape, and a yellow truncated dome element is in the middle of it. People walk by in the background. — Tactile Warning Delineators are a trapezoid edge treatment that helps define the transition of a sidewalk or walkway to another area, such as a bike lane at the same level as the sidewalk. This allows people with limited or no vision to detect the edge of the walkway with their walking cane or underfoot. The intent is that as a person sweeps their cane from side to side, they can detect the raised surface and remain on the intended path. This treatment also does not preclude people in wheelchairs or mobility devices from rolling over them, which will be part of our pilot testing. Photo: SDOT

2) Detectable Warning Surface – truncated domes

Two ADA-accessible curb ramps from the sidewalk down to the street. Yellow treatments with truncated domes provide a tactile indicator of the transition. Rocks are nearby in the left image. — Detectable Warning Surface treatments including ‘truncated domes’ help provide a tactile warning cue that someone is approaching a transition into a hazard area along a pedestrian access route, such as a street crossing, or at a transit boarding platform edge. Photo: SDOT

3) Tactile Directional Indicator – a set of 2 to 4 raised, truncated parallel bars

A while tactile direction indicator treatment between a bike path and a walkway. the raised bars indicate the transition. A fence, trees, and buildings are in the background. — A white Tactile Directional Indicator treatment (center) helps provide a tactile cue to separate the bike path from the sidewalk along the Seattle waterfront. Part of this pilot project is to determine where to use different tactile treatments based on specific site characteristics and conditions. Photo: SDOT

Here are the new tactile elements we recently installed in the University District.

U District – Brooklyn Ave NE and NE 45th St

A map graphic showing where new tactile elements were recently installed along Brooklyn Ave NE, south of NE 45th St in Seattle's University District neighborhood. Elements include trapezoid delineators, directional indicators (4-bar), truncated dome plates, and existing elements and a planting strip. — *Map of features in the U District along Brooklyn Ave NE, next to NE 45th St. Graphic: SDOT*

Picture of the new tactile indicators along a bike path and next to sidewalks. People stand and walk in the background near large buildings. The white treatments indicate the transition between the bike path and sidewalk, with yellow truncated dome treatments to indicate crossing points. — *A view of the U District pilot location facing north on Brooklyn Ave NE. Photo: SDOT*

A street view of a bike path and sidewalk on a sunny day, with a car in the center. Trees and vegetation are in the image. A white tactile walking surface indicator shows where the bike lane starts and ends, and a yellow truncated dome textured treatment shows where a crossing is located. — A view of the U District pilot location facing northwest on Brooklyn Ave NE. A 5-foot space is provided between the two different tactile treatments for passengers for pick up and drop offs while the yellow truncated domes indicate a crossing space over the bike lane. A tactile directional indicator, in blue and black, provide a visual and tactile cue of the separation between the vehicle and pedestrian spaces with the idea that people will identify the blue as an accessible space. This light shade of blue is synonymous for accessibility elements nationwide. Photo: SDOT

These raised tactile surfaces are a relatively new development, and they build on previous efforts we’ve undertaken in Seattle (read more in this previous blog post). We are currently working with local partners that support people with vision disabilities to request their feedback on these features. These organizations include the Lighthouse for the Blind, National Federation of the Blind, DeafBlind Service Center, and Washington State Department of Service for the Blind .

An Accessible Pedestrian Signal on a pole along a sidewalk with large buildings and people walking in the background. — A view of the U District pilot location facing south on Brooklyn Ave NE. Where the bike lane and trapezoid treatment shift towards the street, a different tactile treatment (4-bar directional indicator) provides a tactile wayfinding cue directly to the Accessible Pedestrian Signal at the southeast corner of the intersection to the southern crossing. Photo: SDOT

These raised tactile surfaces are a relatively new development with no formal requirements in the United States, and they build on previous efforts we’ve undertaken in Seattle (read more in this previous blog post). We are currently working with local partners that support people with vision disabilities to request their feedback on these features. These organizations include the Lighthouse for the Blind, National Federation of the Blind, DeafBlind Service Center, and Washington State Department of Service for the Blind.

Timeline of our pilot project activities in 2024:

Horizontal timeline starting from May 2024 through October 2024. May, July, September projects are listed at the top of the timeline while the other months are labeled on the bottom. Milestones are also listed in bullets below this image. — *Timeline of pilot project activities from May through October of 2024. Graphic: SDOT*

2024 timeline:

May: SDOT coordination and concurrence, site planning, develop communications plan
June: Finalize plan and participants for testing (Pedestrian Access Advisory Committee, bike/pedestrian boards), begin data collection of existing Tactile Walking Surface Indicator applications
July: Installation of pilot materials, continue data collection
August: Installation and testing, develop data collection report
September: Complete testing, develop summary of findings and observations
October: Additional feedback, analysis, and reporting

While the current pilot will focus on the three types of treatments listed above, future pilot projects could include bike and/or transit elements to further support non-visual navigation for Blind, DeafBlind, and people with low vision. We intend to use feedback from a variety of volunteer participants to formulate a toolbox and set of guidelines that can be applied to future SDOT projects as well as Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodation requests received by our ADA Program. Participation in the pilot study will consist of visiting at least one of the test sites with SDOT staff, participating in different maneuvers and scenarios, and providing feedback via a questionnaire.

If you’re interested in knowing more about this project or other ADA projects and accessibility treatments in the public right-of-way or want to get involved and join our Pedestrian Access Advisory Committee, please contact us at DOT_ADAProgram@seattle.gov for more information and to be included on the email distribution list. You can also visit our website or check out this previous blog post about the various ways we’re working to make Seattle more accessible for everyone.

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