Opinion: ‘Floating’ Bus Stops Endanger Blind Pedestrians

A design that places bike lanes between bus stops and sidewalks complicates mobility for pedestrians, especially people with vision impairments.

1 minute read

February 13, 2024, 9:00 AM PST

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Red painted bike lane next to floating bus stop and green double-decker bus in the UK.

'Floating' bus stop next to bike lane in Cambridge, United Kingdom. | Floating bus stop, Hills Road by Hugh Venables, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons / Floating bus stop

In a commentary for The Times Colonist, Graeme McCreath argues that ‘floating’ or island bus stops pose extra safety challenges for blind pedestrians.

“Consciously creating unsafe barriers to essential public services violates the Canadian Charter and human rights-based legislation designed to ensure unimpeded public access of citizens with diverse abilities.”

McCreath writes that “These floating/island bus stops fail to meet any of the seven principles of universal design” and should not be included in recommendations for street design. Continuing to install them, for McCreath, “reveals a callous disregard for proven endangerment.”

Monday, February 12, 2024 in The Times Colonist

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