Old and New Challenges for People with Vision and Hearing Impairments

Hybrid vehicles are so quiet they can be a hazard to pedestrians who are blind and rely on surrounding sounds to determine if it's safe to step into a street. Photo from iStock Facebook

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"In Berkeley, California, the sidewalks are completely flush with the street," notes Vinay Pimplé (pronounced Pim-Play), an attorney and member of the city council in Richmond, California.

"That was probably meant to make things super easy for people in wheelchairs."

with visual impairments. Photo by James Scott Crawford/American Foundation for the Blind

intersection at a diagonal send people who can't see into the middle of traffic.Traffic roundabouts: Since the purpose of a roundabout is to keep vehicles moving, crossing one can be

difficult to near impossible for a person with vision impairment.Sidewalks placed at varying distances from the street, or sidewalks that are surrounded by cement, make it hard for people

with vision impairment to tell if they're still walking on the sidewalk or are actually in the street. (The best type of sidewalk, says Pimplé, is one that has grass on both sides.)While

traffic islands are often used to help pedestrians cross roads by providing a rest area or safe zone, when a traffic island is installed without an accompanying traffic light, the traffic on

either side of the island never has to stop. When the traffic is always moving, a vision impaired person can’t tell when it's safe to cross.Architectural or design elements that stick out

from buildings at chest or face height without anything beneath for a cane to tap can have painful consequences.Subway entrances that have no tactile warning on the ground are a hazard that

can cause a person with blindness to fall down the steps. Without a noticeable slope or curb, a transition from the sidewalk to street may not be discernible to visually impaired travelers.

Photo by James Scott Crawford/American Foundation for the Blind Coming Attractions Getting There

"People with diminished or no vision and hearing aren’t disabled as much as the built environment we have now is largely disabling."

"People with diminished or no vision and hearing aren't disabled as much as the built environment we have now is largely disabling,” observes Benjamin Frost, an urban planner, attorney,

director of legal and public affairs at New Hampshire Housing and the executive producer of Getting There, an upcoming documentary that explores how "blind wayfinding" can and should serve

as the standard that shapes public spaces. Created by filmmaker Matt Frost (Ben's son), Getting There's core message is that a better environment for the blind is a better environment for

everyone. -Melissa Stanton