Government publish

new tactile paving guidance

A blind man using a white cane to identify tactile paving safely walking along a path.

Last month, the UK Government’s Department for Transport published new Tactile Paving guidance to boost mobility independence for people with vision impairments.

The use of tactile paving surfaces is important because these surfaces convey vital information to vision impaired and other people about their environment, including hazard warning and directional guidance, thereby supporting independent mobility.

When moving around the public realm, vision-impaired people will actively seek, and make use of, tactile information underfoot, detectable contrasts in surface texture. It is therefore important that tactile paving is used correctly and consistently so that conflicting and confusing information is not conveyed.

This guidance is for use by public or private bodies and individuals with a role in the provision, design, improvement, and maintenance of the public realm.

The use of this guidance will support the processes of creating and maintaining an inclusive and accessible built environment, and activities carried out in compliance with the public sector Equality Duty set out in the Equality Act 2010. The guidance will also be of interest to those looking to make reasonable adjustments in response to the requirements set out in Section 20 of the Equalities Act.

Simply implementing tactile paving might not allow your built environment to meet the best practice standards of accessibility. Direct Access can provide low-cost, high quality accessibility audits to guarantee an inclusive environment for all disabled people. In addition, we can supply your organisation with the RightHear app, a revolutionary orientation device which helps vision-impaired people manoeuvre environments independently and with dignity.

Direct Access even offers audits in video formats that we have dubbed “Walk and talk” accessibility audits. This allows a member of our team to directly comment on the specific elements in detail and demonstrate issues for improvement within a more accessible format, being subtitled (and signed in BSL) if required.

Feel free to contact us and lay out your specific needs so that we can find improvements to suit your needs or budget. Or alternatively, have a look at our Access Consultancy options.

Yellow Braille blocks at a public transport station.

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