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Pedestrians Who are Blind at Signalized Intersections: Research on Safety, Orientation & Independence
Billie Louise (Beezy) Bentzen
Boston College
Research supported by a grant to Western Michigan University entitled "Blind Pedestrians' Access to Complex Intersections," from the National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health
Examined effects of intersection signalization and geometry on safe crossing by pedestrians who are blind
Obtained data from 16 pedestrians who were blind, in each of 3 cities, crossing at a total of 6 unfamiliar, complex, signalized intersections without accessible pedestrian signals.
・Portland, Oregon
・Charlotte, North Carolina
・Cambridge, Massachusetts
Six intersections representing the following characteristics
・Split phasing & signalized, channelized, right turn lane & cut-through median
・Square wide intersection, semi-actuated
・Offset, with exclusive pedestrian phase
・Offset, with leading pedestrian interval
・Very wide, very skewed, 5-leg intersection
・Simple four leg with free right turn lane
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