Accessibility Presentation Rebecca parras – Jessica kaplan- diana herrera

1. Protruding object Fire extinguisher located in Music building, 1st floor: The fire ext. is protruding from the wall about 4 inches in width and this poses a hazard for anyone walking in the hallway. The hallway is relatively narrow and when it is very busy and filled with students it would be hard to avoid bumping into the fire ext. It is also made of metal and it is heavy, so it could actually injure the traveler bumping into it. Also, the fire ext. has nothing underneath it, so a white cane would not detect it until the traveler were actually bumping into it. In these photos, you can see that a person with visual impairments may easily bump into the fire ext. :

1. Recommendations to improve this setting: By creating a recess in the wall to place the fire extinguisher, it would improve the design feature of it protruding from the wall and the risk of travelers bumping into it would be eliminated. Also, the placement should be higher in order to make it visually easy to find and easily accessible in case someone has to use it. Chest/head level would be best. Lastly, the fire extinguisher should have a glass covering over it in order to ensure that it is not in anyone's way and that it won't be tampered with unless there is an actual emergency in the building. By having a glass covering with brightly contrasting colors, a person with low vision could detect it and it would also be out of their walking path. A tactile design feature would also make this safely accessible for blind travelers, maybe a handle or braille writing indicating that it is a fire extinguisher. These improvements would make this fire extinguisher safely accessible to all travelers in the hallway.

2. Wall made entirely of glass located in Annenberg Sciences Center, wing B: The wall of this building is made entirely of glass which poses a hazard for people who have low vision because they may think that the glass is actually an opening or a doorway. This may cause a person to walk right into the glass. Also, the design feature of all glass makes locating the entrance or exit very difficult since the wall looks the same all the way around the perimeter. In these photos, you can see how the design would make it confusing for a person with low vision to navigate around. They may walk right past the entrance because it looks just like the rest of the wall does:

2. Wall made entirely of glass located in Annenberg Sciences Center, wing B:

2. Wall made entirely of glass located in Annenberg Sciences Center, wing B:

2. Recommendations to improve This setting: Whether the traveler is inside or outside of the building, this design feature of all glass makes it difficult to find entrances and exits. One feature that makes it difficult is that all of the metal poles along the glass are uniform in size and look exactly like doorways. One recommendation to improve this setting would be to outline the perimeters of doorways in high contrast colors so that they would be visually easy to detect for a person with low vision. Bright red, yellow, or orange would be great to improve this feature. A highly contrasted handle to the door would also improve this design. Also, braille text indicating that there is an entrance or exit would be helpful for a blind traveler. Even more helpful than braille text would be handrails placed along the walls that lead directly to the doorways. If they are high in contrast, they would aid not only blind travelers but also travelers with low vision. This would create easier access to the doorway entrances and exits of the building and would eliminate the illusion of open doorways all around. It may decrease the risk of travelers trying to walk through the glass and it would create safer access to the doorways. An addition even as simple as adding a highly contrasted doormat may aid a traveler in locating the doorway. Lastly, a highly contrasted landmark near the doors would also visually aid a traveler trying to locate the entrance to the building. A yellow pole or a map would be a great addition to this setting.

3. Stairs

3. Handrail on left side of pedestrian isn’t continuous. Solutions: Extending the handrail to the last stair would be a good solution. This staircase shows a good example of the end of the handrail rounded and turned into the wall, but it’s just slightly short a couple of stairs, which makes it dangerous to a low vision and/or blind traveler.

3. Risers are not closed. Solutions: Adding risers to the stairs would make these stairs a lot safer. This way, people can safely walk up the stairs without getting their feet or cane caught.

3. The tactile and visual markings of staircase are ineffective. Solutions: Replacing the 2-inch tactile strip at the edge of each stair would be the best solution, but with some improvements. Picking a more contrasting color than grey, such as yellow or white, would help the low vision traveler travel more efficiently.

3. No detectable warnings at bottom or top of staircase. Solutions: Adding tactile ground surface indicators in the front of the staircase would help a blind traveler and give them warning of a staircase. The tactile ground surface indicator should be yellow or white to contrast with the grey floor, and can help a low vision traveler anticipate the start/end of the staircase as well.

3. Staircase is not enclosed.  Solutions: Adding a cement barrier around the bottom of the staircase will help the blind traveler. Even an experienced blind traveler could get confused, and using auditory clues may not help because this staircase has a lot of echoes and sound reflections. The concept of a staircase may be understood by the traveler, but without the barrier, a traveler may think they are approaching the entrance to the stairs, when in fact they are not.

4. GLARE: CAFÉ 47 “PERFECT PAIR” SPECIAL POSTER Glare is defined as an annoying sensation produced by too much light in the visual field that can cause both discomfort and a reduction of visual acuity (Wiener, et al. 665). A person with low vision is going to have a very hard time choosing the “Perfect Pair” via this poster.

4. GLARE: CAFÉ 47 “PERFECT PAIR” SPECIAL POSTER -Continued SOLUTIONS: 1. The café can move the poster to the glass window which has less glare. 2. The café can make the poster more visually contrasting especially the letters. 3. A more expensive solution not likely to happen is to have anti-reflection film on the windows 4. If the cafe chooses to keep the poster as is, CSULA could install shades on that side of the café in order to block the sun. 5. The other solution would be for the low vision traveler to wear sunglasses that might help reduce the glare.

5. Beneficial Features to Visually impaired individuals by drop off near Adm. Buildings Just by looking at this picture, What do you see that might be helpful for a blind individual and for someone with low vision?

5. Beneficial Features to Visually impaired individuals by drop off near Adm. Buildings- Continued 1. Bright yellow truncated domes near curb 2. Bright yellow pole next to map 3. Campus Map 4. Circular Planter

5. Beneficial Features to Visually impaired individuals by drop off near Adm. Buildings- Continued 1. Bright yellow truncated domes near curb This curb is accessible to both people who are blind and visually impaired because it is bright yellow (high contrast) and because the truncated domes provide textural clues that the individual is closer to the curb.

5. Beneficial Features to Visually impaired individuals by drop off near Adm. Buildings- Continued 2. Bright yellow pole next to map: The pole is high contrast and serves as an excellent landmark to locate the map and the drop-off/ pick up location. 3. Campus Map: The map is useful to individuals with low vision. The map can be improved by making the key larger and possibly outlining the campus with black. It’s very useful for an individual with low vision who is new to the campus or needs a quick reference. We really value that the buildings are numbered, that they are a contrasting yellow color, and that it’s available by the drop-off. A student with low vision should use a monocular to see the key more efficiently.

5. Beneficial Features to Visually impaired individuals by drop off near Adm. Buildings- Continued 4. The Circular Planter serves as a great landmark for people with visual impairments. All the aspects in this picture make this drop –off/ pick up area ideal for people with visual impairments. We commend CSULA for attempting to improve the environment for their students with visual impairments.

Citations Wiener, William R., Richard L. Welsh, and Bruce B. Blasch. Foundations of Orientation and Mobility: Volume 1, History and Theory. New York: AFB, 2010. Print.