Enhancing shared street accessibility in heritage sites for individuals with visual disabilities: a Canadian perspective.
M Lakoud, E Morales, A Ruiz-Rodrigo and 3 others
PMID 39777252WHAT IT FOUND
Participants in co-design sessions said flat shared streets remove tactile cues for people with visual disabilities.
They asked for tactile strips, clear crossings, and removable bollards for winter. These design ideas were proposed but not tested.
Key findings
01Shared streets can remove tactile and directional cues for blind people, causing confusion, less confidence, and more anxiety.
02Winter and snow removal were major themes, and participants asked for raised tactile strips and bollards.
03Experts said tactile cues may not be enough and that removing sidewalks could add insecurity for blind people.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Only one person with visual disability and one caregiver of a visually impaired person were consulted. The co-design sessions used convenience and snowball sampling, so the participants may not represent broader experiences. The narrative review did not use pre-established inclusion or exclusion criteria. The proposed street design was not tested for safety, accessibility, or user acceptance. The findings are tied to Quebec City heritage sites and heavy winter snow, so they may not apply elsewhere. The study produced expert opinions and design proposals, not clinical outcomes.
Declared interests
The project was funded by Norms of Accessibility Canada and the Government of Canada. Some team members are also funded by the Fonds de recherche du Québec. Université Laval and the Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation et intégration sociale contributed to development. A design company was hired with grant funding to make prototypes.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the proposed bollards, tactile strips, or modular street layout as evidence that shared streets are accessible or safe. The design was not tested, and only one person with visual disability and one caregiver of a visually impaired person were consulted.