Overcome barriers to access with 'foot braille'

Brian Newell of the Shackerley (Holdings) Group reports on tactile flooring (Foot Braille) and the way it helps service providers to comply with their DDA obligations.

There is no doubt that 'tactile' floor surfaces can make all sorts of premises safer for the visually impaired.

Brian Newell, chairman of Shackerley Holdings Group Limited calls upon those responsible for the specification, design and management of public buildings and open spaces to fully comply with obligations imposed by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and to place a greater emphasis on the needs of visually impaired 'service users'.

The DDA has imposed responsibilities on almost everyone involved in the provision of services to the public to take reasonable steps to overcome 'barriers to access' for those with disabilities of all types.

For visually impaired people, and that includes at least a million adults in the UK, everyday features such as steps, staircases and ramps in public buildings can be hazardous and therefore present physical 'barriers to access'.

There is no excuse for putting the visually impaired at unnecessary risk when there is a well-established and effective method of highlighting the presence of hazards in their vicinity.

Blind and partially sighted pedestrians actively seek and use tactile information underfoot.

Profiled 'tactile' flooring or 'Foot Braille' is therefore a logical way to provide appropriate warnings and help them navigate their way around their environment.

Different profiled floor surfaces have been developed to communicate a range of 'hazard warnings'.

Detailed prescriptive guidance on the design of tactile flooring is enshrined in BS 7997 - 'Products for tactile paving surface indicators - Specification'.

This clearly outlines the nominal size of tactile paving products manufactured from concrete stone or clay, and specifies the required dimensions for raised surfaces, the patterns, colours, and engineering properties of the flooring and its positioning in various situations.

The Department for Transport played a major part in the development of effective tactile floor surfaces, and the passenger transport industry as a whole has led the way in the adoption of best practice as far as the use of 'Foot Braille' is concerned.

BS 7997 is indeed based on the very detailed 'Guidance on the use of tactile paving surfaces, (DETR 1998)', a document co-authored by the DfT, The Transport Laboratory (TRL) and the Joint Mobility Unit of the Royal National Institute for Blind People (RNIB).

Tactile flooring is also referenced in BS 8300: 2001 which has extended its use way beyond the sphere of passenger transport applications, and the subject is covered in depth in Approved Document M - Access to and use of Buildings.

Shackerley has been involved in developing specifications for the types of tactile paving to be used, eg, its load-bearing capacity, wear and 'anti-slip' properties, the height and configuration of the raised surfaces (which are specified to within fractions of a millimetre).

We worked with our suppliers to design and procure an exceptionally durable and hardwearing tactile tile which was successfully assessed and tested in JMU/RNIB user trials at major railway stations including London Victoria, Euston and Manchester Piccadilly.

Shackerley's All Weather Tactile tiles comply with all necessary specifications and have proved to be an ideal way to communicate hazard warnings.

Made of ceramic granite which is the hardest flooring surface available, further reinforced with through-body corundum, (second only in hardness to diamond), they are particularly well suited to very high volume traffic environments.

The intrinsic strength and durability of reinforced ceramic granite means that the all-important profiled floor surface is maintained over time, no matter how heavy the foot traffic.

The wear properties of a Shackerley tactile tile far exceed those of a concrete paviour.

The standard tactile range includes 'corduroy' (ridged) and flat topped 'dome' configurations.

The ridged profile warns pedestrians of the presence of steps and landings.

The domed tiles are used on off-street platform edges such as in railway and underground stations.

Two standard colours, beige and anthracite, enable specifiers to provide a visual contrast with whatever surrounding flooring is being installed.

The colouring is permanent, achieved by the use of mineral pigments fired throughout the body of the tile.

Shackerley is also able to supply ceramic granite tactile tiles in non-standard colours to suit individual design requirements and in bespoke sizes, configurations and profiles to meet the needs of overseas customers.

Here in the UK great progress has been made in the development of tactile flooring standards.

It is now the duty of specifiers and their clients to continue the good work.

For the sake of the million visually impaired adults in this country, it is high time that all public facilities complied with British Standards, Building Regulations, Department of Transport guidelines and ultimately with the requirements of the DDA.

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