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Curb Cuts
- jws 8y agoTangentially related, but important if you do any sidewalk work… Those bumps on the ramps are not for traction, they are tactile clues for the blind. Do not use the bumped pavers decoratively to make interesting patterns! They come in a variety of patterns, but those all have specific meaning, they are not there to make your walk look interesting.
- mikepurvis 8y agoI can appreciate that purpose, but they're also really annoying to traverse for other kinds of vehicles, including small-wheeled strollers, children's scooters, longboards, etc. It's appreciated when the curb cut can be a bit wider so that there's a section which is smooth all the way down. With my powered longboard (Boosted), I'm usually on the road, but there's a section of my commute where I'm on a multi-use pathway adjacent to a busy road and need to use curb cuts to navigate crossings at a pair of roundabout— having the bumps there (with limited way to avoid them) adds instability exactly when I'm about to cross traffic and need to be able to focus on which non-signalling, unaware drivers are about to swerve out of the roundabout and plow me over. I'm obviously a tiny minority in this, and the accessibility argument is huge, but OTOH crossing these roundabouts in their current condition would be pretty much impossible anyway for a non-sighted person.
- carapace 8y agoAs annoying as being blind? I understand you're inconvenienced by the bumps but, c'mon, have some perspective.
- mikepurvis 8y ago"crossing these roundabouts in their current condition would be pretty much impossible anyway for a non-sighted person"
- xsmasher 8y agoThey are more than annoying for bicycles - they're an outright hazard for bicycles. They become slippery as ice when wet. A nearby bike trail uses them at every intersection, and when it's been raining I dread having to maneuver on them.
- chuckgreenman 8y ago99pi is always one of my first recommendations for podcasts. Roman Mars and team do a really good job of talking about the built / designed world in a way that is accessable and interesting to outsiders.
- wingerlang 8y agoIronically, this episode didn't have him in it.
- SECProto 8y agoYes it does: he comes on at approximately 31:30 Either way, the praise was directed to Roman and the team.
- wingerlang 8y agoI knew I should have finished the podcast before commenting.. And yes of course.
- stirner 8y agoCurb cuts in LA also include a sheet of small yellow nubs right before the street. The ADA calls these “detectable warning systems” [1], intended for sight-impaired folks. I feel bad because I always assumed they were there to interfere with skateboarders on the sidewalk! [1] https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/streets-sidewalks/public-rights-of-way/guidance-and-research/detectable-warnings-update https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/street...
- jdavis703 8y agoSkateboarders don't need curb cuts, they can go off and on curbs in ways that wheelchairs can't easily do. And if they're using a longboard, well, that's their own fault :)
- oldcynic 8y agoIn the UK they are different colours and patterns so blind and partially sighted folks can tell what they're near. They're red near pedestrian controlled lights and yellow near uncontrolled lights or crossings with no lights. There's different patterns of the raised dots/lines for some uses - like steps or platform edges. None of this had I noticed until someone pointed out there was a method at work. :)
- DanBC 8y agoPeople don't know about the spinners under the PELICAN / TOUCAN boxes either. They aren't on all boxes, but they are on lots. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-ouch-22706881 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-ouch-22706881
- mlinksva 8y agoI just became aware of the possibility of raised crosswalks, which seem like a fantastic idea -- no gradient for pedestrians, and a speed bump to slow cars -- https://sf.streetsblog.org/2018/05/22/walk-sf-campaigns-for-san-franciscos-first-raised-intersection/ https://sf.streetsblog.org/2018/05/22/walk-sf-campaigns-for-... I imagine a raised crosswalk would also be more expensive than a curb cut. Are there any advantages or disadvantages relative to curb cuts for various disabilities?
- Noumenon72 8y agoPedestrians are able to negotiate gradients more easily than cars, so this seems inefficient.
- mlinksva 8y agoThe inefficiency for cars is a feature. It means drivers will slow down and thus kill less. https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2018/1/25/speed-kills-so-why-do-we-keep-designing-for-it https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2018/1/25/speed-kills-so...
- duskwuff 8y agoSome pedestrians can manage a sloped curb at a crosswalk. Others may have a more difficult time of it. By contrast, all cars must be able to drive up and down a short slope. They must do so to enter most parking lots, for instance, so performing a similar maneuver at an intersection is no big deal.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- andys627 8y agoSo many of our problems with regard to urbanism are rooted in making things efficient for cars over other users.
- kibwen 8y agoOne objection to omnipresent speed bumps would be their effect on ambulances. Unless one were to outfit ambulances with those nifty active electromagnetic suspensions, so that you could actually speed to the hospital without slamming the patient into the ceiling...
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- empath75 8y agoAs someone who has to push a stroller around these days, I’ve come to appreciate how much improved accessibility for disabled people means improved accessibility for everyone.
- kibwen 8y agoCame here to mention the stroller thing. Making cities more accessible to wheelchairs has had a lot of happy side effects.
- notatoad 8y agoCurb cuts are wonderful all around - in addition to the obvious benefits for wheelchair bound people, they are great for strollers, deliveries, people with reduced mobility who can walk but have trouble negotiating full curbs, and just as a guideline for helping people with full mobility cross the street safely.
- burfog 8y agoFor people with reduced mobility who can walk, slopes are often worse than steps. It is common for old people to lose sensation. This includes the ability to be confident of the angle of the ankle, the ability to sense pressure under the foot, and the ability to quickly sense motion via the inner ear. The slope can make these people tip right over, falling and then breaking bones. It can be fatal.
- kqr 8y agoThis is one of the more subtle reasons I dislike the euphemism "differently abled". It makes it sound like accessibility measures are at the expense of regular people's comfort, but that could not be further from the truth. There are some hoops society wants all people to jump through, and disabled people cannot jump through a subset of those. Accessibility measures means removing hoops people are forced to jump through. Everyone benefits from fewer hoops.
- heleph 8y agoNavigating my city’s public transport with a stroller also gave me new appreciation of how difficult it must be for people in a wheelchair. There are only a handful of step free stations in my city.
- protomyth 8y agoThese, like speed bumps, would be a pain in winter for snow removal. There is a reason a lot of folks in the northland are buying removable speed bumps so they don’t have issues in the winter.
- bobthepanda 8y agoCurb cuts are cut into the sidewalk, which is normally cleared by manual shoveling anyways, t least in the US. Shoveling a curb cut is really not all that different from shoveling any other piece of sidewalk.
- jdietrich 8y agoSee also this article by Rory Sutherland about the more general benefits of accessible design. https://www.spectator.co.uk/2017/12/design-everything-for-the-disabled-and-you-cant-go-wrong/ https://www.spectator.co.uk/2017/12/design-everything-for-th...
- chiefalchemist 8y agoAmazing. That said, recently my father had a stroke. As the person who has spent plenty of time pushing him in his wheelchair (until his balance and strenght returns) I can tell you there are still plenty of instances where things are "non-inclusive." p.s. If anyone is looking for a startup idea, having a sensors to tell the person using it whether __both__ breaks have been engaged would be helpful. Without the breaks engaged pushing up and out of the chair actually leads to pushing the chair out and back. Similar can be said a walker. There's no feedback. It's all trial & error. T&E is great for an 8 month old learning to walk for the first time. T&E for an 80 y/o is dangerous. Even adding say $50 - $100 to the cost of either - if that investment lowered doctor / hospital visits - I think the cost could be easily justified (read: beneficial and insurane company approved).
- carapace 8y ago*brakes
- chiefalchemist 8y agoYeah. Oops. Thx