title: Aging and the use of pedestrian facilities in winter-the need for improved design and better technology.
abstract: Walking outdoors is often difficult or impossible for many seniors and people with disabilities during winter. We present a novel approach for conducting winter accessibility evaluations of commonly used pedestrian facilities, including sidewalks, street crossings, curb ramps (curb cuts and dropped curbs), outdoor stairs and ramps, building and transit entrances, bus stops, and driveways. A total of 183 individuals, aged 18-85 completed our survey. The results show that cold weather itself had little impact on the frequency of outdoor excursions among middle-aged and older adults while the presence of snow and/or ice on the ground noticeably kept people, especially older adults at home. The survey found that the key elements decreasing winter accessibility were icy sidewalks and puddles at street crossings and curb ramps. While communities have recognized the need to improve snow and ice removal, little attention has been paid to curb ramp design which is especially ineffective in winter when the bottom of the ramps pool with rain, snow, and ice, making it hazardous and inaccessible to nearly all users. We conclude that investigations of alternative designs of curb ramp are needed.
authors.affiliation: Technology R&D Team, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, 550 University Avenue, 13th floor, Toronto, ON M5G 2A2, Canada. Yue.Li@uhn.ca
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jennifer Anna
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: Geoff
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fernie
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001107:Architectural Accessibility / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D003625:Data Collection; D004779:Environment Design / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007053:Ice; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011891:Rain; D012621:Seasons; D012914:Snow; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016138:Walking / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D007053:Ice