Application and Current Situation of Blind Floor Tiles in Blind Ways

Nowadays, blind floor tiles are everywhere in life, but does the blind way really bring convenience to the visually impaired? Currently, the situation of blind ways is very bad, with extremely low usage rates and situations where blind ways are occupied everywhere. So how can we improve it?

Construct blind ways selectively, not just pursuing "quantity", but ignoring the actual use of blind ways

For example, secondary roads and sidewalks with widths less than 3.5 meters can be exempted from building blind ways, while standardized blind way construction should be implemented in main sections and spacious sidewalks to achieve regional connectivity. At the same time, prompt blind ways should be generally built at intersections, turning points, and important building entrances. A small section of walk-in blind way should also be set up at road entrances without tactile tiles, so that blind pedestrians can know that there are no blind ways ahead.

Make the blind way settings more humane

There are two ways to lay blind ways on sidewalks, which can be paved from 25 to 60 centimeters inward from the outer edge of the sidewalk, or from 25 to 60 centimeters outward from the inner side of the sidewalk. Previously, Shanghai's blind way locations were generally based on the former method, which made it difficult to avoid conflicts with bicycles parked on the sidewalk. Now the city government's plan has changed to the latter method, which can make blind people and cyclists each have their own space, reducing the conflict to some extent.

Strengthen blind people's travel training on blind ways

In the past, our research and solving of navigation problems often started with facilities, and little training was given to blind people, resulting in many blind people not understanding the various navigation facilities available, let alone using them. Therefore, relevant parties should be organized to help blind people become familiar with various navigation facilities, encourage them to use them, and improve their travel abilities.

Encourage blind people to have more social contact and not to isolate themselves at home due to their physical defects. In this way, the degree of attention paid to blind people by the public will increase, and they will also become aware of the role of tactile tiles, consciously and voluntarily not occupying blind ways, and actively assisting blind people to travel.

In fact, to seek benefits for the blind requires the participation of everyone. We may try to cover our eyes and experience the feeling of blind people's travel, perhaps in this process, we will understand their difficulties and have a sincere love for them. For government departments, when considering measures to facilitate the visually impaired, such as tactile tiles, they should also think from the perspective of the visually impaired. After all, this is not a "face project", but a practical matter to seek benefits for the visually impaired.