“I’m afraid every time I step off a curb, that this could be the time I get killed or severely injured”.
There are many types of “disabilities” but people with visual, hearing and mobility disabilities may face more difficulties than most in trying to negotiate all aspects of city life. Here we discuss the city’s physical space and digital space.
7.4% of people in Canada aged 15 and older live with disabilities related to low vision (LV) or blindness, 5.6% with partial hearing or deafness and 10.6% with a mobility disability (https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/89-654-x/2024001/tbl/tbl01_3a-eng.htm). These numbers are expected to increase to 2050.
There are many things a city can do to promote accessibility and inclusion for “persons with disabilities”. For example, it can provide
Considering “safe streets and sidewalks for walking and wheeling”, here is how one visually impaired person describes their experience walking in Burnaby with their guide dog:
“I’m afraid every time I step off a curb, that this could be the time I get killed or severely injured”.
Examples of infrastructure issues that make it so harrowing for this visually impaired person to navigate Burnaby on foot:
1. Broken sidewalks
Sometimes chunks of sidewalk or pavers are sticking up from the sidewalk that can cause a trip and fall hazard. Sometimes, a trench or hole has been dug next to a sidewalk and is not covered over. If a visually impaired person accidentally steps off the edge of the sidewalk into a trench or hole, they can fall and sustain serious injury.
2. Sidewalk obstructions
An example of a sidewalk obstruction would be a sign blocking a sidewalk that says “Sidewalk Closed”. A seeing eye dog could end up leading the visually impaired person into the roadway to get around the sign.
3. Not enough poles with location indicators
A seeing eye dog is trained to take their person to the corner of a street or the drop down. From there, the person needs to listen for a pole indicator that beeps every couple of seconds in order for them to be able to find the pole and push the button to cross.
In Burnaby, there are not enough poles with indicator beeps so when a seeing eye dog takes their person to the edge of the road, the person with low vision or no vision has to walk around (in the dark) to try and find the pole.
Poles that do have indicator beeps cannot be heard in loud settings such as very loud traffic or construction zones unless the indicator beeps are amplified when there is a lot of surrounding noise. Burnaby has not installed amplification capability on its poles.
4. Push buttons confusingly located
Push buttons to cross a street should be located on the two sides of a pole that face the streets so a person with low vision or who is blind knows which button to push to cross in the direction they want to cross. In Burnaby, push buttons are sometimes located on the inside of the pole, facing a building. A visually impaired person then has to pad around the pole to find the buttons and they are then not sure which crossing signal they have activated until it starts to beep. (The tweet crossing sound is for crossing a street east-west and the cuckoo sound indicates a north-south direction.)
5. Curb cuts (drop downs) that wrap around a corner where two sidewalks meet
Curb cuts that wrap around a corner on Burnaby streets are a nightmare for partially sighted or blind people and they can also be a problem for people in wheelchairs. A person with low vision or blindness needs to be able to feel the corner of the curb at an intersection so that they know that they are stepping into a crosswalk area. What visually impaired people say they need is two curb cuts – one curb cut into the east-west crosswalk and another curb cut into the north- south crosswalk rather than one wide corner curb cut where they could be directed into the middle of an intersection.
Curb cuts that wrap around a corner can also propel a person in a wheelchair into the middle of an intersection amidst busy traffic. Persons in wheelchairs also need two curb cuts at corners so that they are propelled into a marked or unmarked crosswalk.
6. Islands
When a person with low vison or blindness crosses the road with an island at the opposite corner, the person has no way of knowing if they are walking onto an island rather than a sidewalk.
Also, there is no walk signal from an island to a sidewalk so if a visually impaired person steps into a crosswalk between an island and the sidewalk, they risk being hit by a right turning vehicle. Sometimes, a blind person will put their arm out straight pointing their white cane in order to cross a dicey street, however, they are still fearful that a driver will not recognize the gesture.
7. Intersections where the marked or unmarked crosswalk is at an angle
A person who cannot see does not know if a crosswalk is at an angle. This is a recipe for disaster. Visually impaired people have suggested that tactile or sensory indicators be placed where crosswalks are angled so that a blind person can feel with their feet the direction of the crosswalk. (An example of a sensory indicator is the little bumps that are on the yellow part of sky train platforms next to the tracks to prevent people from falling into the track.)
(Although electric vehicles are not part of city infrastructure, it is worth noting that a person with LV or blindness cannot see or hear electric vehicles. Visually impaired people have reported feeling particularly vulnerable to being struck by electric vehicles.)
People with diverse abilities have enough to contend with without risking their lives on city streets!
