The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : New footpath tiles to help the visually impaired

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Sunday, Jul 05, 2009
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

New footpath tiles to help the visually impaired

Staff Reporter

They can place their canes on the long grooves and walk comfortably

— Photo: S.S. Kumar

DISABLED-FRIENDLY: The tiles that have been laid around the Ripon Building will provide the much-needed relief to persons with visual impairment.

CHENNAI: The Chennai Corporation has come up with a different kind of pavement tile to help persons with visual impairment walk with greater ease.

The yellow-coloured tiles have specially designed long grooves on which the visually impaired can place their white canes and walk without any hindrance.

Initially, the civic body has affixed the tiles on a stretch of the pavement on EVR Periyar Salai and Raja Muthiah Salai, around the Ripon Building complex. “We will be fixing such tiles on platforms on all major roads. We are planning to begin with the T.Nagar and Pondy Bazaar areas,” a senior official of the civic body said.

The yellow band of tiles with corrugated designs is either placed in the centre of the pedestrian pathway or along the edge. At points where the footpaths end, tiles with button-like designs would be fixed to let the users differentiate between the two kinds of tiles.

In places where pedestrian crossings are available, there would also be a curve alongside the straight line of tiles to indicate the facility. When these tiles are fixed, obstructions such as lamp posts, telephone junction boxes and the like would be moved. One square metre of such tiles of 20 mm thickness cost Rs.1,007.

Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, who had seen similar tiles in Japan during his visit there, had asked the Chennai Corporation to install them.

Corporation Commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni said such tiles were being used all over the world. “Initially, we had placed the tiles in a zigzag manner. Following suggestions from visually impaired persons, we have placed them straight. We are still open to ideas.”

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