MAKING CROSSING STRUCTURES ACCESSIBLE FOR ELDERLY AND HANDICAPPED PEDESTRIANS

There is a need to make pedestrian crossing structures as accessible as possible to all potential users. Of principal interest are the approaches to the structures. Some handicapped pedestrians, such as those in wheelchairs, need a ramped surface to most overpass structures. Other handicapped pedestrians, such as those on crutches, are better able to climb on stairs. Persons with restricted vision can be aided by guidance strips and tactile warning surfaces. Problems to be dealt with by highway officials include balancing cost with anticipated use, the conflicting demands of different handicapped users, and the trade offs between accessibility and user convenience. This article addresses these problems with discussion on determining user needs, on identifying needs of two major groups of elderly and handicapped pedestrians--those in wheelchairs and those who are blind, and on the research which has been or is being conducted on accessibility features.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/1586080
• Corporate Authors:

  Federal Highway Administration

  Office of Research and Development, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Richter, R A
  • Fegan, J C
• Publication Date: 1983-12

Media Info

• Features: Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 84-88
• Serial:
  • Public Roads
  • Volume: 47
  • Issue Number: 3
  • Publisher: Federal Highway Administration
  • ISSN: 0033-3735
  • Serial URL: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/
• Publication flags:

  Open Access (libre)

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Accessibility; Aged; Blind persons; Design; Footbridges; Overpasses; Pedestrian safety; Persons with disabilities; Research; Underpasses; Wheelchairs
• Uncontrolled Terms: Design features
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Research; Safety and Human Factors; Society; I85: Safety Devices used in Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00389069
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-036 602
• Files: HSL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Sep 28 1984 12:00AM