The Cellar  

Go Back   The Cellar > Images > Image of the Day

Image of the Day Images that will blow your mind - every day. [Blog] [RSS] [XML]

Reply
 
Thread Tools Rating: Thread Rating: 7 votes, 5.00 average. Display Modes
Old 03-19-2008, 09:58 PM   #1
xoxoxoBruce
The future is unwritten
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 71,105
March 20, 2008: Blind Sidewalks

Cellarite Kirk Israel, is visiting Japan at the moment, and posting a lot of pictures on his website(The first picture there, may not be safe for work?).

There are many interesting pictures, but I was struck by the pictures of the sidewalk markings for the blind. I stole these two pictures, to show you how they mark the path with straight ribs and intersections with dots.


Uh, thanks Kirk.
__________________
The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.
xoxoxoBruce is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2008, 10:02 PM   #2
Aliantha
trying hard to be a better person
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 16,493
We have those here. They can be a death trap if you're wearing spike heels. We also have noisy walk signals at traffic lights. Do you have those too?
__________________
Kind words are the music of the world. F. W. Faber
Aliantha is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2008, 10:07 PM   #3
HungLikeJesus
Only looks like a disaster tourist
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: above 7,000 feet
Posts: 7,208
Ah, blind sidewalks. Not those other kind.
__________________
Keep Your Bodies Off My Lawn

SteveDallas's Random Thread Picker.
HungLikeJesus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2008, 10:22 PM   #4
Sperlock
Elite Elitist
 
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Reno, NV
Posts: 322
I've seen one of these with the dots and just thought they were for walking on during the icy season.
__________________
Every oak tree started out as a couple of nuts who stood their ground. - Anonymous
http://informationthreshold.blogspot.com, http://spiritualthreshold.blogspot.com
Sperlock is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2008, 10:41 PM   #5
Happy Monkey
I think this line's mostly filler.
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: DC
Posts: 13,575
They put those on some subway stops in DC, at the edge of the tracks. Apparently, if you're not used to them, the way they catch the cane can be startling.
__________________
_________________
|...............| We live in the nick of times.
| Len 17, Wid 3 |
|_______________| [pics]
Happy Monkey is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-20-2008, 12:47 AM   #6
Pearcie (AUS)
Superior Inhabitant
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 73
Noisy walk signals

Quote:
Originally Posted by Aliantha View Post
We have those here. We also have noisy walk signals at traffic lights. Do you have those too?
Not sure where 'here' is Ali but we def have them in Oz. I have one particularly loud signal outside my bedroom window. It's a good 30m away but still keeps me up from time to time. If I were a lighter sleeper I think I would have gone crazy years ago!
Pearcie (AUS) is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-20-2008, 02:41 AM   #7
Aliantha
trying hard to be a better person
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 16,493
I'm in Brisbane and I can imagine those noisy things would be very annoying if you were a light sleeper. Glad it's outside your window and not mine.

I haven't seen you around here before that I can remember, so g'day etc. Where abouts are you from?
__________________
Kind words are the music of the world. F. W. Faber
Aliantha is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-20-2008, 05:14 AM   #8
Sundae
polaroid of perfection
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: West Yorkshire
Posts: 24,185
We have them here (at least the bumpy ones at crossings) and I agree with Ali - it's hell on high heels, especially if a little worse for wear.

On the pavements near Moorfields (big London hospital specialising in sight issues) there are coloured stripes on the pavement (sidewalk) from the Tube station - different stripes lead to different entrances/ departments of the hospital for the partially sighted.
Sundae is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-20-2008, 10:50 AM   #9
runswithknives
syl·la·ble
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Redondo Beach, Ca
Posts: 33
Yeah, those are far less misleading than the crosswalk's that tell you when to walk.
runswithknives is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-20-2008, 12:00 PM   #10
Cicero
Looking forward to open mic night.
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 5,148
Great photos!!! Loved them! Now what is Kirk's cellar name? Or is it secret?
__________________
Show me a sane man, and I will cure him for you.- Carl Jung
Cicero is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-20-2008, 12:24 PM   #11
Undertoad
Radical Centrist
 
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Cottage of Prussia
Posts: 31,423
kisrael
Undertoad is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2008, 08:41 PM   #12
beauregaardhooligan
Elite Elitist
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 323
The raised dots were installed in our city (Greenville, SC) after a local blind woman complained that her seeing eye dog didn't stop at streets where there was no curb. It seems the dog only recognized, and stopped at roads with curbs. The bumps allow her to tell when she is about to cross a street where there is no curb for the dog to recognize.
beauregaardhooligan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2008, 10:27 PM   #13
wolf
lobber of scimitars
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Phila Burbs
Posts: 20,774
Back in the early 1980s, they redid the sidewalks in town in West Chester, particularly the crossing at Gay and High. For wheelchair access they removed the curbs at the intersections. It was a masterful job, with a very gentle slope to the street.

Unfortunately, blind people never knew when they were crossing the street. I don't know if there were any injuries or near misses, though.

Within a few weeks the brand new crossings were ripped up, and some rough cobblestones were laid in place to mark the edge of the sidewalk and the beginning of possible sudden death. If you've ever tried to cross at Gay and High, you know what I mean.

I believe that Dave Barry (who at the time was a columnist for The Daily Lack o' News) wrote a particularly humorous column about this.
__________________
wolf eht htiw og

"Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island

High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis
wolf is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-22-2008, 08:06 AM   #14
TheMercenary
“Hypocrisy: prejudice with a halo”
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Savannah, Georgia
Posts: 21,393
We have a new Kroger that just put those bumpy things across the front of the door opening. Now I guess it is to keep the blind people out or keep them in once they get there.
__________________
Anyone but the this most fuked up President in History in 2012!
TheMercenary is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-22-2008, 12:01 PM   #15
xoxoxoBruce
The future is unwritten
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 71,105
Rumble strips, for people.
__________________
The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.
xoxoxoBruce is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:13 PM.


Powered by: vBulletin Version 3.8.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.