Crossing Solutions at Roundabouts and Channelized Turn Lanes for Pedestrians with Vision Disabilities

This report is intended to provide practitioners with useful information related to establishing safe crossings at roundabouts and channelized turn lanes for pedestrians with vision disabilities. The specific focus areas of the report provide guidance on: identifying under what conditions pedestrians with vision disabilities may experience problems with crossing performance; tying treatment solutions to specific crossing challenges faced by the visually impaired pedestrian population; conducting pedestrian/vehicle studies that help identify performance problems and appropriate treatment strategies; quantifying pedestrian accessibility at a particular crossing; presenting findings from selective field studies performed through this research; developing approaches for extending research findings to other locations; and discussing implications for the practitioner in terms of treatment selection and facility design. The results of this research will be useful to engineers, the accessibility community, policy makers, and the general public to aid in understanding the specific challenges experienced at these facilities by pedestrians with vision disabilities. It is only through the understanding of the components of the crossing task and the particular challenges involved that solutions can be developed, installed, and evaluated appropriately.