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The city is a jumble of access ramps, train platforms, bus stops, sidewalks, curbs, and intersections. While a non-disabled person finds these challenges pretty easy to navigate and deal with, for people with disabilities and visual impairments, this can be more of a struggle. So much so, moving around a big city could truly be a hazardous experience.

People with visual impairments and disabilities need additional help to ensure their safety while navigating through the busy city streets, sidewalks, subway and rail platforms, bus stops, and so on. To help ensure people with disabilities get that help, the Americans with Disabilities Act mandates certain measures to make accessing different areas easier and more accessible to everyone.

One such requirement is the installation of detectable warning panels in the surface area of sidewalks to serve as a warning for upcoming dangerous changes. These changes could be a busy intersection, a ramp, an edge of a platform, curbs, or steps. The warning panels help to keep everyone safe, including people without visual impairments or disabilities.

For instance, many people walk around these days looking down at their smartphones. This leads to distractions that could result in their walking out into a busy street, off a curb, or, worse, falling off a rail platform down onto the tracks. Luckily, the change in the dome surface can be felt and alerts people to potential dangers and hazards.

Detectable warning systems are essentially a “stop sign” to let people know they need to do something. The raised surfaces on the warning panels are designed to be detected by a walking cane as well as be able to be felt through the soles of boots and shoes. People might need to stop and prepare to cross a busy street or wait for their train. It could also indicate the need to look up from your smartphone to see what attention is required.

Even though detectable warning systems are great, you also have to consider lower light conditions and situations that could result in complete darkness. While visually impaired people will still be able to easily navigate using the tactile surfaces, non-visually impaired people will be the ones at a disadvantage.

Detectable Warning Panels

This is where our Glow-Dome™ product can help. Glow-Dome™ panels do not rely on any power source and are charged by ambient light. They provide emergency visual cues in reduced or no light situations. The panels can be integrated into tactile warning systems to help provide a distinct visual cue. They are offered in retrofit transit, paver, and replaceable tile options.

In addition, certain building codes and regulations could require the use of photoluminescent tiles to help mark the path to exits during emergencies, reduced or no-light conditions, and other such situations.

  • Fun Fact: Glow-Dome™ panels can help you earn LEED credits toward earning a green building rating.

To learn more about detectable warning tiles, tactile warning systems, and Glow-Dome™ panels, please feel free to contact ADA Solutions at (800) 372-0519 today!

how to make public transit safer-title
Blind pedestrian walking on tactile paving

ADA Solutions’ truncated domes are a type of detectable warning solution used in schools, airports, and mass transit environments. This special raised surface has small raised round sections, which non-visually impaired people and children sometimes say look like Lego® blocks that have been “snapped” into the ground.

Read more

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Have you ever wondered what purpose those raised truncated domes served when placed at busy intersections or along the edge of subway and train platforms? Aside from providing visual cues to non-visually impaired people that they need to take caution in this location, the raised bumps help provide non-visual cues to people who have problems seeing.

They could have reduced vision, be considered legally blind, or have other vision problems relating to depth perception. When they “feel” the raised bumps on the surface, it alerts them that they need to take precautions beyond the end of the raised domes.

Detectable warning surfaces are available in a variety of shapes, sizes, and styles, depending on where they will be installed. In addition, they are offered in a wide array of different colors. Most people are familiar with the bright-yellow-colored warning surfaces since this is one of the most used colors.

Yet, you may have encountered tactile surfaces that are blue, red, black, white, or a combination of two or more colors. There are even graphic-style warning surfaces that could feature a company’s brand name, logo, or other such advertisements.

Why Are There Different Colors?

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The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) does not have a set color requirement for tactile raised warning systems. According to Section 705.1.3 of the ADA, it states the following in regards to color:

“Detectable warning surfaces shall contrast visually with adjacent walking surfaces either light-on-dark or dark-on-light.1

What this means is that municipalities, businesses, and other parties are responsible for ensuring tactile warning surfaces are installed where required by federal laws, and that they are essentially free to choose any color or combination of colors they desire, so long as the colors contrast with the surrounding surfaces.

To illustrate, a local community is building a new park that has a sidewalk around its perimeter which serves as a crosswalk at busy intersections. The streets and sidewalks are made of light-colored cement.

At each intersection, the color of the warning surfaces should be a dark color to contrast with the light cement. The local community could decide to use the traditional yellow or opt for a dark red, blue, or some other color if they so desired.

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However, before you start ordering new colors for the tactile dome surfaces you are responsible for, you do need to check your state’s regulations and requirements. Some states like California, have adapted their own specific regulations and requirements in regards to color. In California, the state’s regulations allow for the use of yellow-colored warning surfaces.

If the warning surfaces you are responsible for are in California, then yellow is currently the only color you are allowed to use with a few exceptions. For example, you might be allowed to add white text or an image to the surface, such as the wheelchair used for handicap accessible parking spaces.

However, it is your responsibility to ensure this is allowed in the locations where you are going to be installing new or replacing existing warning surfaces.

What Is the Role/Purpose of Each Color?

The color of truncated domes can sometimes be used to serve specific roles or purposes. With our traditional yellow color, it signifies to use caution in the location. In some cities, they will also use a bright red or brick red color, which also indicates people should use caution.

Some state regulations will only allow the use of red warning surfaces in areas that are considered a controlled pedestrian walkway or crossing. A controlled walkway or crossing would be considered crosswalks at major intersections, but could also include different types of crossings, like a pedestrian bridge used above a busy road.

The bright blue color that is often associated with handicap accessible areas is typically reserved for the same purposes when used with warning surfaces. You may also notice the wheelchair symbol in white on the surface.

handicapped-detectable-warning-systemOther colors you can encounter in different cities could include:

  • Black
  • Dark Red/Brick Red/Orange-Red
  • Dark Gray
  • White
  • Light Gray
  • Brown/Clay Red
  • Light Yellow

The use of these colors is often for aesthetic reasons and, typically, does not have any specific role or purpose tied to the color. For example, dark-red warning surfaces may be used on a pedestrian crossing that intersects a jogging and bike path made of a light-colored cement or paving tiles.

The dark red provides a brick-like appearance to the path and satisfies the ADA contrast requirements. On the other hand, if the path was dark-colored asphalt, then the warning surface tiles should be a light color, so white or light gray would both work as viable color choices.

Can a Business Use Custom Colors?

As long as there are no state-mandated requirements and the tactile system satisfies the ADA federal requirements, then by all means, a business can use custom colors. Custom colors can include just about any color and shade. For instance, a sports arena may choose to install detectable tactile surfaces that reflect the team’s colors.

Some businesses also use custom designed panels that they can change out that feature to different types of images, logos, and text. For example, a retail store could have special tiles made to reflect various times of the year, holidays, or seasonal sales events. As long as the panel they want to replace is a cast-in-place replaceable panel, they can swap it out with whatever custom designed panel they want to use.

Does the Choice of Color Really Matter?

detectable-warning-systems-for-the-blindAccording to a study conducted by the United States Access Board, it found that while traditional yellow was a good contrasting color for many applications, unless there were state regulations requiring the use of this color, other colors would work just as well.

In fact, they found brick red to be just as superior a contrasting color to yellow in their 2007 research study.2 The study also found that the use of multiple colors in areas where using a single contrasting color was difficult was better compared to using a single color.

To illustrate, a rail station platform uses a series of different paver tiles in both dark and light colors. Since there are both light and dark colors, choosing a contrasting color to satisfy the ADA requirements could prove challenging. However, the ADA does allow an exception where you could use two colors—one as a border around the second color to help create the necessary contrast.

How ADA Solutions Can Help

ADA Solutions offers a wide array of tactile warning systems and solutions in traditional yellow and customizable colors to suit your needs and requirements. We can lend our expertise to help ensure you satisfy ADA requirement and any state regulations for the type of panels you choose for your project including:

  • Cast-in-Place
  • Cast-in-Place Replaceable
  • Photoluminescent Systems
  • Way-Finding Surfaces
  • Replaceable Graphic Tile Systems
  • Radius Systems
  • Surface Applied Systems
  • Cast Iron Tactile Systems

We are committed to the highest quality and standards in our products and solutions. Over the years, we have installed over 30 million square feet of warning surfaces all across the country! At ADA Solutions, your project and your needs always come first to ensure you receive the customer-focused attention you deserve.

We would also be happy to supply you with a sample of our products. To request a free quote, free sample, for assistance finding a distributor in your area, or any other questions about ADA Solutions truncated domes and warning systems, please feel free to contact us at (800) 372-0519 today!

Sources:

  1. http://www.ada-compliance.com/ada-compliance/705-detectable-warnings
  2. https://www.access-board.gov/research/prow/visual-detection-detectable-warning/