TRB is offering reduced price workshops on analyzing and designing roundabouts and channelized turn lanes to be usable by people who are blind or have low vision.
Workshop content will be based on the findings and methodologies of NCHRP Report 834 — Crossing Solutions at Roundabouts and Channelized Turn Lanes for Pedestrians with Vision Disabilities: A Guidebook. Workshops will be presented by members of the NCHRP Report 834 team.
TRB is offering reduced price workshops on analyzing and designing roundabouts and channelized turn lanes to be usable by people who are blind or have low vision.
Workshop content is based on the findings and methodologies of NCHRP Report 834 — Crossing Solutions at Roundabouts and Channelized Turn Lanes for Pedestrians with Vision Disabilities: A Guidebook. Workshops are presented by members of the NCHRP Report 834 team.
THE ACCESSIBILITY CHALLENGE
All newly constructed or renovated facilities must meet the accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), to be "accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities" (Title II, 35.151 New Construction and Alterations). Within public rights-of-way, facilities such as sidewalk and street crossings, including signal equipment, should be designed in accordance with the proposed Accessibility Guidelines for Pedestrian Facilities in the Public Right-of-Way (2011) (proposed PROWAG), or subsequent finalized guidance or standards that may be published in the future.
The accessibility of modern roundabouts and intersections with channelized (right) turn lanes is an important civil rights challenge in the United States that has broad potential implications for engineering practice in this country. In general, these facilities are challenging for blind people because of curved geometry and vehicle paths, yield control, and atypical noise patterns.
Proposed PROWAG requires pedestrian-activated signals at multilane roundabout crossings, along with options for equivalent facilitation. Municipalities and state DOTs need more specific guidance on other options that may constitute equivalent facilitation to pedestrians with vision disabilities at these intersection types.
This workshop will describe accessibility issues experienced by blind pedestrians and present design techniques and treatments to provide information needed for wayfinding and crossing by people who are blind. This workshop provides information about a performance-based assessment process for accessibility. It also presents equivalent facilitation treatments to establish access to these facilities for people who are blind, while reducing installation cost and impact to vehicular traffic compared to a pedestrian-activated signal.
For more information, including research/resource links, training materials, and a complete list of the nationwide workshops, click here
Schedule
7:30 to 8:00 a.m. - Check-in
8:00 to 12:00 p.m. – Workshop Session
12:00 to 1:00 p.m. - Lunch (on your own)
1:00 to 5:00 p.m. - Workshop Session
There is limited seating for this event.
Participants will earn a total of 8.0 professional development hours (PDH) for attending this workshop.
There is a $100 cost to attend this workshop.
If you have any questions regarding the logistical aspects of this event, please contact Alexandra Jahnle at (443) 524-9416 or ajahnle@kittelson.com.
For technical questions, contact Bastian Schroeder at (910) 399-5570 or bschroeder@kittelson.com.
ABOUT THE PRESENTERS:
Lee Rodegerdts, Principal Engineer
Kittelson & Associates, Inc.
Lee has 25 years of broad experience in traffic operations, traffic design, transportation planning, and transportation research and education. He is recognized internationally for his expertise on roundabouts and has led national research and guide development on intersection planning, analysis, and design for more than a decade. He is a founding member of TRB’s Committee on Roundabouts and the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices’ Roundabout Task Force, and he previously served as chair of the Unsignalized Intersections Subcommittee of the Committee on Highway Capacity and Quality of Service. He has taught over 70 professional short courses on highway capacity, intersections, roundabouts, and signal timing. Lee led the development of NCHRP Report 672, Roundabouts: An Informational Guide, and has provided engineering expertise to accessibility research at roundabouts and other intersections for the past fifteen years.
Janet Barlow, Orientation and Mobility Specialist
Accessible Design for the Blind
Janet is a certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist with extensive experience teaching travel and street crossing skills to individuals who are blind or who have low vision. For the past fifteen years, she has worked on research related to accessibility of sidewalks and street crossings to pedestrians with disabilities and on developing solutions to problems, in collaboration with transportation engineers and planners. She was a key team member for NCHRP Projects 3-78a, 3-78b and 3-78c, researching crossing solutions at roundabouts and channelized turn lanes for pedestrians with vision disabilities and developing guidance. She also was a key member of the team for NCHRP 3-62 which conducted research that resulted in the development of standards for accessible pedestrian signals. She has provided numerous training sessions and presentations at ITE, TRB, AER (Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired) and APBP (Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals) conferences to share and implement research results. She is a member of the TRB’s Pedestrian committee and Roundabouts committee.