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Accessible Pedestrian Signals: A Guide to Best Practice 203 Chapter 10: International Practice SUMMARY Th e information in this chapter is based primarily on visits made by Janet Barlow and Billie Louise Bentzen during 2001 to four countries whose use of APS has been long term, extensive, systematic, and positively accepted by blind pedestrians and traï¬ c engineers. Many other countries have a long history of using Accessible Pedestrian Signals. Th is chapter is not an attempt to review all international experience. INFORMATION GATHERED During trips to Japan, Sweden, Australia, and Denmark, the authors met with traï¬ c engineers, orientation and mobility specialists, APS manufacturers and representatives of consumer groups to discuss accessible pedestrian signals. Installations were observed and photographed. At times Barlow and Bentzen, both of whom have unimpaired vision, traveled under blindfold and crossed unfamiliar intersections using typical orientation and mobility techniques and the accessible signals. CHAPTER CONTENTS Th is chapter summarizes information gathered during visits to the following countries: Japan 204 Australia 208 Sweden 211 Denmark 214
204 Chapter 10: International Practice Japan FUNCTIONING OF PEDESTRIAN SIGNALS Pedestrian Signal ⢠A âred man, green manâ signal is used ⢠Pedestrian signal timing WALK or âgreen manâ timing is ï¬ gured based on walking time of 1 meter per second and is calculated to the center line of the intersection. Flashing DONT WALK timing was reported to be based on a walking speed of 1 meter per second, however this timing seemed to average about 3 seconds regardless of the width of streets. ⢠Mr. Sugimoto at the Japanese National Police Agency (JPNA), which manages all intersections, stated that intersection timing always includes a pedestrian phase, and at locations with vehicular actuation, pedestrian buttons are provided to lengthen the phase and/or actuate an audible signal. ⢠Many intersections have pretimed signalization. INTERSECTION GEOMETRY Streets are generally wide. Driving is on the left. Even where there is a very wide median it is not considered or used as a pedestrian refuge. Most intersections have pedestrian crosswalks; a fence is typically used where crossing is prohibited. At areas with high levels of pedestrian traï¬ c, there may be exclusive pedestrian phasing. Most intersections with exclusive pedestrian phasing have audible signals. Japan has very few non-signalized turn lanes or pork chop type islands. Tactile Walking Surface Indicators, such as âdot tilesâ (called detectable warnings in the US) are ubiquitous in urban areas and have been in use since the 1960s to indicate danger or a need to make a decision. Dot tiles are used in combination with âbar tilesâ, a directional surface. Together they provide a continuously demarcated route for pedestrians who are blind. NUMBER OF APS Japan has 170,000 signalized intersections. Of those, 10,570 intersections have APS. Th ere are a variety of APS systems, most with sound broadcast from the pedestrian signal head (pedhead). A number of melodies and tones are used to indicate Figure 10-1. âRed man, green manâ type signal used in Japan
Accessible Pedestrian Signals: A Guide to Best Practice 205 the WALK interval. Th e tone or melody varies from municipality to municipality; each is allowed to choose its own. JPNA has also developed a receiver-based system called PICS. ⢠7,978 intersections have cuckoo or chirp from the pedhead during the WALK interval ⢠2,592 intersections have melodies from the pedhead during the WALK interval ⢠300 intersections in 20 cities have an infrared APS system (PICS-A) compatible with the Smith- Kettlewell/Talking Signs® standard as developed and evaluated under the direction of JPNA FUNCTIONING OF BROADCAST APS Cuckoo/chirp ⢠Most common sounds for a WALK interval. ⢠Alternating signal is now the recommended signal and costs a âtrivial amountâ more than non-alternating. Usually use birdcalls; and are beginning to install alternating signals with diï¬ erent sounds, (chirp and chirp-chirp) on diï¬ erent sides of the street, to improve beaconing. Melody ⢠Variety of melodies broadcast into the intersection, with a change in melody during the clearance interval. ⢠Often quite loud; sometimes possible to hear the melody of one intersection from a block away Speech message ⢠Message was âWalkâ and the street name in Japanese ⢠Speaker in the pedestrian signal head may be pointed straight down toward the pedestrian below. Other characteristics ⢠Some APS in Tokyo used increased repetition rate of cuckoo or chirp during the clearance interval Figure 10-2. At this intersection a chain fence is used where crossing is prohibited, and bar tiles indicate a travel route Figure 10-3. Pedhead with APS speaker is mounted on a mast arm overhanging the crosswalk below
206 Chapter 10: International Practice ⢠Very few APS had locator tones at the pushbutton. ⢠APS may have a sound for the pedestrian clearance interval: ⢠Yokohama used sound like that of an emergency vehicle ⢠Fairly common in Tokyo to center the APS speaker over the crosswalk on mast arm extending from the pole ⢠APS sound is usually turned oï¬ at 8:00 pm because residents nearby are bothered by noise. FUNCTIONING OF PICS SYSTEM PICS system is being developed, evaluated and installed under the direction of JPNA. ⢠Communicates from an infrared transmitter called an âIR station,â and short range radio transmitter installed at the intersection, to a receiver carried by pedestrians. ⢠Th ere are two types of PICS systems. PICS-A SPEECH SYSTEM PICS-A speech system provides pedestrian traï¬ c signal information and location information for bus stops and public facilities through a speech message to visually impaired pedestrians. As the traveler approaches within 10 meters of the intersection where the PICS-A system is installed, an FM radio message is received by the hybrid radio/IR receiver in either a speech or vibration mode. Th e vibration alerts users to the presence of the transmitted signal. Th e speech message identiï¬ es the intersection. When pedestrians arrive at a corner and are within the crosswalk with the receiver aimed toward the infrared transmitter on the opposite corner, they receive IR-transmitted speech information about the status of the pedestrian signal. A third function extends the pedestrian phase when a button on the receiver is pushed. PICS-B IMAGE SYSTEM Th e PICS-B image system extends green lights and provides route guidance and information about the surrounding area on a visual display to people with mobility or hearing impairments. Portable receivers (transceivers) are pointed at âIR stationsâ Figure 10-4. Japanese pedhead with APS speaker pointing straight down toward the pedestrian below Figure 10-5. The PICS-A system is shown with four infrared transmitters mounted on a horizontal mast arm
Accessible Pedestrian Signals: A Guide to Best Practice 207 located near pedestrian traï¬ c signals to extend the pedestrian signal timing, make emergency contacts, and obtain route guidance and information about the surrounding area. A visual display provides information to the pedestrians. COMMENTS Th e authors found the variety of overhead speakers loudly broadcasting musical sounds or birdcalls to be confusing and distracting. Although these systems have been in use in Japan for about 40 years, there is growing concern in Japan about the noise pollution they cause. Th e PICS-A system provided signal and directional guidance quite eï¬ ciently. Radio transmitted information was useful for general intersection information on approach. A large array of transmitters is required for this system, as shown in Figure 10-5. ⢠A head-mounted receiver has now been developed by Mitsubishi Precision Corp. Barlow and Bentzen used this receiver at one intersection and found it eï¬ ective. ⢠Th e standard receiver is hand-held and can hang on a neck cord or be put in a pocket when not in use. SOURCES OF INFORMATION Kunio Kurachi, Mitsubishi Precision Co., Ltd, Tokyo Takabun Nakamura, Okayama Prefectural University, Okayama Hirohiko Ohkubo, Mitsubishi Precision Co., Ltd., Tokyo Michiko Shimizu, Orientation and Mobility Specialist, Tokyo Osamu Sueda, Rehabilitation Engineering Society of Japan and University of Tokushima Mikio Sugimoto, National Police Agency, Government of Japan, Tokyo Masaki Tauchi, Okayama Prefectural University, Okayama
208 Chapter 10: International Practice Australia FUNCTIONING OF PEDESTRIAN SIGNALS Pedestrian signals ⢠Red and green man signals with the red man ï¬ ashing during ï¬ ashing DONT WALK interval ⢠All pedestrian pushbuttons were located in very standardized locations, on the side of the crosswalk away from the parallel street, aligned with the crosswalk line, about 0.5 to 1.0 m from the curb line. Most ï¬ xed timed intersections in downtown Sydney had pushbuttons with audible and vibrotactile features. Pedestrian signal timing ⢠WALK and ï¬ ashing DONT WALK were similar to the US system, with clearance interval timed at 1 meter per second. INTERSECTION GEOMETRY Streets can be wide and complex, sometimes having narrow medians and channelized turn lanes, which were signalized in some locations. Roundabouts are used extensively and orientation and mobility specialists and blind travelers state that roundabouts are a barrier to travel. Detectable warnings or âTWSIâsâ (tactile walking indicators) are used to deï¬ ne the edge of the street on the curb ramp, but not consistently installed from state to state. Th e edge of the TWSI is intended to be aligned perpendicularly to the crosswalk direction; this is intended to provide additional directional information to blind pedestrians. NUMBER OF APS Each state is responsible for its own area. Overall number was not available. APS have been fairly extensively installed in areas where there is pedestrian traï¬ c since the 1980s. Figure 10-6. Signalized left turn lane with APS mounted close to the crosswalk locations. Three APS are on the splitter island, one for each crossing.
Accessible Pedestrian Signals: A Guide to Best Practice 209 APS FUNCTIONING Pushbutton integrated type of signal is used. Th e pushbutton and sound are standardized nationally. Th ere are several APS manufacturers in the Australian market but the pole mounted control box overhead was the only visible diï¬ erence. All pushbuttons looked identical, whether they had APS or not, except that those with APS features had an additional raised bar on the arrow to indicate that they had APS. All pushbuttons with audio- tactile features functioned identically. LOCATOR TONE Locator tone has a repetition rate of once every 2 seconds. WALK indicator: ⢠Fast repetition of low frequency thumping sound during the WALK interval. ⢠May have the capability to be set so that the WALK sound is limited to 8 seconds even when the WALK indication is longer. Alert tone: âAlert toneâ at the beginning of the WALK indication is set to sound at 14 db above ambient. ⢠All devices respond to ambient sound, both for the locator tone and the WALK indication. ⢠Vibrotactile information at the arrow panel pulses at the same rate as the audible tone. ⢠Placement has been standardized at line of the crosswalk away from the center of the intersection. Orientation of face of the APS varied; see photo 4-9. Speaker for the APS is the face of the arrow so sound is emanating from face of unit. Orientation of the device can make a diï¬ erence in hearing the APS when approaching or from the street. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ⢠All devices respond to ambient sound, both for the locator tone and the WALK indication. ⢠Vibrotactile information at the arrow panel pulses at the same rate as the audible tone. Figure 10-7. This APS has a tactile arrow within a larger visible arrow. A raised bar on the tactile arrow indicates that this is an APS. Other features include a locator tone and audible and vibrotactile WALK indication.
210 Chapter 10: International Practice ⢠Placement has been standardized at line of the crosswalk away from the center of the intersection. Orientation of face of the APS varied; see photo 4-9. Speaker for the APS is the face of the arrow so sound is emanating from face of unit. Orientation of the device can make a diï¬ erence in hearing the APS when approaching or from the street. ⢠APS are sometimes turned oï¬ at night due to neighborsâ complaints about noise. COMMENTS Th e standard location of the pushbutton, with each pushbutton located beside the waiting location for the crossing, provided a clear indication of which crossing the APS was indicating. Th ere was no need for diï¬ erent sounds for diï¬ erent directions of travel. Even on pork chop type islands with three devices sounding, it was possible to distinguish the location and crossing being signaled. SOURCES OF INFORMATION George Carnazolla, Transport SA, Adelaide Gayle Clark, Orientation and Mobility Specialist, Guide Dogs Association of SA and NT, Inc., Adelaide Susan Lockhart, Orientation and Mobility Specialist, Sydney Murray Mountain, Access Design Solutions, Melbourne Bob and Jelena Panich, Bob Panich Consultancy, Ryde (Sydney) Stephen Purtill, Speciï¬ cations and Standards, VIC Roads, Melbourne John Samperi, Signal Engineer Roley Stuart, Client Services Manager, Guide Dogs Association of SA and NT, Inc., Adelaide Jack Vankuyk, Traï¬ c Signals Supervisor, RTA Operations, Sydney Figure 10-8. Typical APS location in relation to the crosswalk and sidewalk. Australian curb ramp standards allow a steeper slope than allowed by US standards. Figure 10-9. Installation of tactile arrows was not consistent and provided misleading information in some cases
Accessible Pedestrian Signals: A Guide to Best Practice 211 Sweden FUNCTIONING OF PEDESTRIAN SIGNALS Pedestrian Signals ⢠Sweden uses a âred man, green manâ symbol signal. ⢠Use of a ï¬ ashing or clearance interval seems to be a local decision. In Göteborg, there is no ï¬ ashing interval, while in Skövda, a ï¬ ashing âred manâ is used. Pedestrian actuation is common and the location of the pushbutton is fairly standard, approximately .5-1.0 m from the curb line and near the farthest crosswalk line from the center of the intersection. Pedestrian Signal Timing ⢠Pedestrians rarely had to cross more than two lanes without coming to an island or median. ⢠WALK interval is timed according to the width of the street using 1 meter per second, with a change interval of about 4 seconds. INTERSECTION GEOMETRY In cities, streets were generally narrow, with lots of islands. In general, medians or islands separated traï¬ c. Most channelized turn lanes were signalized. Arterials typically have bicycle lanes on both sides of the street. Bicycle lanes are usually signalized separately, using small ball signals and separate pushbutton actuation. Th ere are no curb ramps as such; all curbs at corners are typically 3-4 cm high, which is said to be acceptable to persons with mobility impairments. NUMBER OF APS Overall number was not available. APS are fairly extensively installed in downtown areas. In suburban areas, signals are installed at the request of persons who are blind or visually impaired and may be installed only on some crosswalks of the intersection, depending on the request. APS have been in use in Sweden since the 1960s. Figure 10-10. This intersection in Göteborg, Sweden has a bike lane (seen on left side of photo) with its own signal head, and an APS that is mounted on the same pole
212 Chapter 10: International Practice APS FUNCTIONING Th ere is no Swedish standard for APS, but most APS have a ticking sound that repeats at 60 pulses per minute for the locator tone and 600 per minute for the WALK interval. The APS is typically placed on a signal pole or stub pole near the edge of the crosswalk furthest from the intersection, about 0.5 meters from the curb. Signal volume is typically set to be audible 3 meters from the pole. Signals respond to ambient sound, within a range set by the installer. APS can also be set to a constant volume. Each intersection had a number of APS and pedestrian signal heads because there was an APS on each island/median; many medians had an additional pedhead as well. APS is diï¬ erentiated from standard pedestrian pushbutton by diï¬ erent colored panels on the side of the device. A raised tactile arrow on top of the device points across the crosswalk. At median locations where the signal actuated a simultaneous WALK for pedestrians crossing in both directions from the median, arrowheads were on both ends of the shaft. Signals were of a type that could include vibrotactile information through a separate button on the bottom of the device. However, that feature was not commonly provided. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Most devices had a crosswalk map feature on the side of the device, indicating the number of vehicular or bicycle lanes to be crossed, and where present, the locations of islands or transit rails across the crosswalk. However, Kaj Nordquist of the Swedish Blind Association, stated that most blind people in Sweden only traveled on familiar routes so the tactile maps were not used much. He stated that orientation to new routes is generally available to blind citizens of Sweden. Figure 10-11. This street crossing in Göteborg, Sweden, includes two islands and numerous APS (located in the photo by circles or half-circles) Figure 10-12. The Swedish APS displays a tactile map on one side Figure 10-13. A pedestrian uses the tactile map
Accessible Pedestrian Signals: A Guide to Best Practice 213 COMMENTS Although there were a number of APSs at each intersection, it was possible to locate the devices, and use the WALK indication of the device to cross eï¬ ciently. Because of the precise location of each APS, the information provided was unambiguous as to which crosswalk had the WALK interval. A pedestrian waiting to cross could always be within armâs reach of the APS, so there was no question regarding which APS was sounding during the WALK interval. SOURCES OF INFORMATION Jan Lund, Prisma Teknik, Tibro Roger Peterson, Prisma Teknik, Tibro Bengt Ekdahl, Traï¬ c Engineering, Göteborg Kaj Nordquist, Swedish Blind Society, Stockholm
214 Chapter 10: International Practice Denmark FUNCTIONING OF PEDESTRIAN SIGNALS Pedestrian Signals Red man, green man symbol Pedestrian Signal Timing Length of the WALK interval varies by time of day. WALK interval usually calculated using a walking speed formula of 1.3 meters per second, but up to 1.5 meters per second can be used. No ï¬ ashing clearance interval Fixed timed signals in most of central business district INTERSECTION GEOMETRY Streets typically were narrow (by US standards) with a great deal of pedestrian and bicycle traï¬ c. Streets included wide bike lanes, often slightly raised from the street level. No unsignalized right turn lanes for cars, but there are right turn lanes for bicycles. Curbs are typically 3â4 cm high, which is said to be acceptable to persons with mobility impairments. Detectable warning surfaces installed in some locations at the curb, usually in a one-foot band. No detectable warnings at edges of cut-through medians. NUMBER OF APS Very common in central business districts; outside of central business districts APS are installed at the request of the Danish Blind Association and only at requested crosswalks of the intersections. Figure 10-14. Illustration of tactile arrow Figure 10-15. The tactile arrow on the APS in Denmark was on top of the device which was located on a pole near the crosswalk line. Most intersections were pretimed so no pushbutton was included on this device.
Accessible Pedestrian Signals: A Guide to Best Practice 215 APS FUNCTIONING Most installations have audible signals coming from devices at pushbutton height, whether they have pushbuttons or the signals are ï¬ xed timed; overhead beaconing speaker devices are currently installed in combination with pushbutton locator tones at a few trial locations. Signals must conform to a national standard. Locator tone and WALK indication ⢠Both are 880 Hz square or saw-tooth wave tones. Locator tone is pulsed at 30/ minute and WALK indication pulsed faster. ⢠Th e Danish standard requires that the WALK indication be ï¬ ve times the rate of the locator tone. ⢠Th e pulse length of the locator tone is 400 ms and the pulse length of the WALK tone is 200 ms. Volume ⢠All APS respond to ambient sound, unless special permission is received to set the signal to a constant low level. ⢠Although the standard for setting the volume is that the signal should be audible 3 meters from the pole, the signal was quite often audible as far as 10 meters from the pole. ⢠Th e installer determines volume by listening. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Location ⢠Located consistently at the end of the crosswalk line so locator tone could be used to line up for crossing. ⢠Consistency of location is considered very important; the APS is installed no more than 0.6 meter from the curb line and the horizontal distance from the crosswalk line is not more than 0.3 m. ⢠Stub poles are installed if signal poles are not available in the appropriate location. Crosswalk information ⢠A knob on the end of the bar indicates the far side of the street and additional knobs indicate the number of islands or medians that will be encountered prior to the far side. ⢠All APS devices have a bar aligned with the crosswalk, functioning as an arrow, on top of the device.
216 Chapter 10: International Practice Other ⢠Where there is a pushbutton, it is usually located on the backside of the APS, toward the pole, with suï¬ cient space for ï¬ ngers to reach between the APS and the pole. ⢠In general there is no need to push a button, as most intersections have pre-timed pedestrian phases. COMMENT Locator tone was same tone as the WALK interval tone, and at the same intensity. Repetition rates at some locations in Copenhagen did not seem to conform to the published standard. At a multi-leg intersection, the APS were very usable for crossing and alignment. ⢠APS were very consistently located in relation to the crosswalk. ⢠Directional bar (arrow) was useful, as were crosswalk maps on the side of the signals. ⢠Medians were cut-through, without detectable warnings, but the sound of the APS on the median gave some information about the median location. Th e representative of the Danish Blind Association mentioned concerns of some people that the signals were too loud, causing noise pollution. CONTACT Mohammed Abazza, Traï¬ c Engineer, Copenhagen Neils Christian Johanneson, Siemens Inge Kyhl, Orientation and Mobility Specialist, Institute for the Blind and Partially Sighted in Denmark Mehta Rohe, Danish Blind Association Jørn Vammen, Signals Engineer, Danish Department of Transportation Figure 10-16. Danish APS with tactile bar (arrow) mounted on the top. The bar is aligned with the crosswalk, and two knobs at the end of the bar indicate a median and the far side of the street.