2 Del. Admin. Code § 4E.11
Current through Register Vol. 28, No. 5, November 1, 2024
Section 4E.11 - Accessible Pedestrian Signals and Detectors- Walk IndicationsSupport:
01 Technology that provides different sounds for each non-concurrent signal phase has frequently been found to provide ambiguous information. Research indicates that a rapid tick tone for each crossing coming from accessible pedestrian signal devices on separated poles located close to each crosswalk provides unambiguous information to pedestrians who are blind or visually impaired. Vibrotactile indications provide information to pedestrians who are blind and deaf and are also used by pedestrians who are blind or who have low vision to confirm the walk signal in noisy situations. Standard:
02 Accessible pedestrian signals shall have both audible and vibrotactile walk indications.03 Vibrotactile walk indications shall be provided by a tactile arrow on the pushbutton (see Section 4E.12) that vibrates during the walk interval.04 Accessible pedestrian signals shall have an audible walk indication during the walk interval only. The audible walk indication shall be audible from the beginning of the associated crosswalk.05 The accessible walk indication shall have the same duration as the pedestrian walk signal except when the pedestrian signal rests in walk. Guidance:
06 If the pedestrian signal rests in walk, the accessible walk indication should be limited to the first 7 seconds of the walk interval. The accessible walk indication should be recalled by a button press during the walk interval provided that the crossing time remaining is greater than the pedestrian change interval. Standard:
07 Where two accessible pedestrian signals are separated by a distance of at least 10 feet, the audible walk indication shall be a percussive tone. Where two accessible pedestrian signals on one corner are not separated by a distance of at least 10 feet, the audible walk indication shall be a speech walk message.08 Audible tone walk indications shall repeat at eight to ten ticks per second. Audible tones used as walk indications shall consist of multiple frequencies with a dominant component at 880 Hz. Guidance:
09 The volume of audible walk indications and pushbutton locator tones (see Section 4E.12) should be set to be a maximum of 5 dBA louder than ambient sound, except when audible beaconing is provided in response to an extended pushbutton press. Standard:
10 Automatic volume adjustment in response to ambient traffic sound level shall be provided up to a maximum volume of 100 dBA. Guidance:
11 The sound level of audible walk indications and pushbutton locator tones should be adjusted to be low enough to avoid misleading pedestrians who have visual disabilities when the following conditions exist:A. Where there is an island that allows unsignalized right turns across a crosswalk between the island and the sidewalk.B. Where multi-leg approaches or complex signal phasing require more than two pedestrian phases, such that it might be unclear which crosswalk is served by each audible tone.C. At intersections where a diagonal pedestrian crossing is allowed, or where one street receives a WALKING PERSON (symbolizing WALK) signal indication simultaneously with another street. Option:
12 An alert tone, which is a very brief burst of high-frequency sound at the beginning of the audible walk indication that rapidly decays to the frequency of the walk tone, may be used to alert pedestrians to the beginning of the walk interval. Support:
13 An alert tone can be particularly useful if the walk tone is not easily audible in some traffic conditions.14 Speech walk messages communicate to pedestrians which street has the walk interval. Speech messages might be either directly audible or transmitted, requiring a personal receiver to hear the message. To be a useful system, the words and their meaning need to be correctly understood by all users in the context of the street environment where they are used. Because of this, tones are the preferred means of providing audible walk indications except where two accessible pedestrian signals on one corner are not separated by a distance of at least 10 feet.15 If speech walk messages are used, pedestrians have to know the names of the streets that they are crossing in order for the speech walk messages to be unambiguous. In getting directions to travel to a new location, pedestrians with visual disabilities do not always get the name of each street to be crossed. Therefore, it is desirable to give users of accessible pedestrian signals the name of the street controlled by the pushbutton. This can be done by means of a speech pushbutton information message (see Section 4D.13) during the flashing or steady UPRAISED HAND intervals, or by raised print and Braille labels on the pushbutton housing.16 By combining the information from the pushbutton message or Braille label, the tactile arrow aligned in the direction of travel on the relevant crosswalk, and the speech walk message, pedestrians with visual disabilities are able to correctly respond to speech walk messages even if there are two pushbuttons on the same pole. Standard:
17 If speech walk messages are used to communicate the walk interval, they shall provide a clear message that the walk interval is in effect, as well as to which crossing it applies. Speech walk messages shall be used only at intersections where it is technically infeasible to install two accessible pedestrian signals at one corner separated by a distance of at least 10 feet.18 Speech walk messages that are used at intersections having pedestrian phasing that is concurrent with vehicular phasing shall be patterned after the model: "Broadway. Walk sign is on to cross Broadway."19 Speech walk messages that are used at intersections having exclusive pedestrian phasing shall be patterned after the model: "Walk sign is on for all crossings."20 Speech walk messages shall not contain any additional information, except they shall include designations such as "Street" or "Avenue" where this information is necessary to avoid ambiguity at a particular location. Guidance:
21 Speech walk messages should not state or imply a command to the pedestrian, such as "Cross Broadway now." Speech walk messages should not tell pedestrians that it is "safe to cross," because it is always the pedestrian's responsibility to check actual traffic conditions. Standard:
22 A speech walk message is not required at times when the walk interval is not timing, but, if provided: A. It shall begin with the term "wait."B. It need not be repeated for the entire time that the walk interval is not timing.23 If a pilot light (see Section 4E.08) is used at an accessible pedestrian signal location, each actuation shall be accompanied by the speech message "wait." Option:
24 Accessible pedestrian signals that provide speech walk messages may provide similar messages in languages other than English, if needed, except for the terms "walk sign" and "wait." Standard:
25 Following the audible walk indication, accessible pedestrian signals shall revert to the pushbutton locator tone (see Section 4E.12) during the pedestrian change interval.2 Del. Admin. Code § 4E.11