Bumps in the Road
I’m sure everyone if familiar with the knobbly pavements put in so the blind can tell where the crossings are. Have you noticed that they are pink near lights controlled crossings and yellow elsewhere?
Why? I have conducted a blind test (boom! boom!) and he can’t tell the difference. The bumps are the same size, spacing and direction. Yet the official guidelines do specify that this is what has to be done.
Tactile paving, in the form of ‘blister’ paving should be red in colour at controlled pedestrian crossings (pelican, zebra, toucan and puffin crossings). But at uncontrolled crossings it should be buff in colour, to indicate the presence of a dropped kerb.
Even the partially sighted, who also benefit from these markings, would have trouble distinguishing the pale colours.
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