[Report] "Where on earth should we go?" Tactile paving damaged and illegal parking... Visually impaired pedestrians' right to walk 'missing'

Frequent Damage to Braille Blocks Helping Visually Impaired... Instead 'Obstructing Passage'
Experts "Policies Should Aim to Reduce Inconvenience for Socially Vulnerable Groups Including Visually Impaired in the Entire City"

The bollard was left standing after being pulled out. Photo by Choyoung Kim, Intern Reporter choyoung@asiae.co.kr

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon, Intern Reporter Kim Cho-young] The walking rights of visually impaired individuals are being infringed upon. Braille blocks that serve as their eyes are damaged, and bollards that prevent vehicles from entering sidewalks are sometimes uprooted entirely. The series of devices designed to assist the outdoor activities of visually impaired people and act as their eyes are instead tying their feet. Experts suggest that urban policies should be oriented toward accommodating socially vulnerable groups such as the visually impaired.

Recently, from Jongno 3-ga Station to Jonggak Station, from Jonggak Station to Anguk Station, and back to Jongno 3-ga Station, numerous braille blocks and bollards were observed throughout Jongno 1, 2, 3, and 4-ga neighborhoods. Bollards are posts installed to prevent vehicles from entering sidewalks, and if these bollards are damaged or missing, visually impaired individuals find it difficult to distinguish whether they are on a sidewalk or a road.

As a result, damaged braille blocks found everywhere, braille blocks pointing in the wrong direction, and crosswalks without braille blocks are not devices for the visually impaired but rather additional obstacles infringing on their walking rights.

The braille blocks are so worn that it is impossible to tell whether they are dot-type blocks or line-type blocks. Photo by Choyoung Kim, intern reporter choyoung@asiae.co.kr

According to a recent survey, it is clear how much inconvenience visually impaired people face while commuting. The Korea Consumer Agency recently investigated 100 vehicle entry and exit points of building parking lots in metropolitan downtown areas and announced that more than half of these locations had disrupted pedestrian routes or lacked braille blocks. Although complaints about inconvenient passage are continuously raised to local governments, immediate responses have been insufficient.

Current legislation requires conformity assessments for policies ensuring pedestrian safety and convenience to be conducted mainly by local residents and related experts, which fails to adequately reflect the opinions of transportation-vulnerable users, such as the disabled. It is pointed out that involving transportation-vulnerable individuals directly in the assessment process, ensuring evaluations are conducted from their perspective, would enable the creation of more effective laws for their walking safety.

The Consumer Agency's investigation of vehicle entry and exit points at building parking lots in metropolitan downtown areas with many visually impaired residents and high pedestrian traffic revealed issues such as disrupted pedestrian routes, lack of braille blocks, bollards, warning devices, and poor maintenance. Among the 100 locations surveyed, 25 had disrupted pedestrian routes, increasing the risk of accidents for visually impaired pedestrians. Most problems were due to 'lack of floor differentiation at vehicle entry/exit points' or 'narrow effective sidewalk width caused by illegal parking.'

A crosswalk without Braille blocks for the visually impaired. Visually impaired individuals may not recognize the crosswalk and could cross the street during a red light. Photo by Choyoung Kim, intern reporter choyoung@asiae.co.kr

Installation of braille blocks was also found to be inadequate. Among 57 sidewalks surveyed, braille blocks, which help visually impaired individuals detect walking paths with their canes, were not installed. Even where braille blocks were installed, half were made of inappropriate materials or sizes, or suffered from poor maintenance. Major issues included △non-use of yellow braille blocks △use of non-standard braille blocks △improper direction of crosswalk braille blocks and poor maintenance.

There were 47 cases where bollards preventing vehicles from entering sidewalks were absent. Even where bollards existed, more than half were made of steel or stone, and no tactile (circular) blocks were installed in front of them. Major problems included △installation of stone bollards without tactile blocks in front △inappropriate spacing of stone bollards △inadequate spacing of linear blocks.

There were 37 locations without warning devices that alert pedestrians audibly to vehicle entry and exit. Only 47 locations had warning devices that functioned properly, and among these, 17 had devices installed far from the sidewalk, making it likely that ambient noise would prevent the warning sound from reaching pedestrians effectively.

According to current law (Pedestrian Safety Act), special mayors, metropolitan mayors, city mayors, or county heads must conduct surveys of pedestrian paths in their jurisdictions every five years to establish and implement policies ensuring pedestrian safety and convenience. Based on this, they must gather opinions from local residents and related experts to formulate a basic plan every five years and submit it to the Minister of the Interior and Safety and the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. However, the current law only requires hearing opinions from corporations or organizations related to transportation-vulnerable groups during conformity assessments, which is criticized for lacking effectiveness.

A taxi is illegally parked on the sidewalk, blocking the braille blocks. Photo by Choyoung Kim, intern reporter choyoung@asiae.co.kr

There are also laws aimed at organizing road occupancy objects and illegal facilities that hinder pedestrian safety, but these have not contributed to substantial improvements. The 'Transportation Vulnerable Act' stipulates that mayors or county heads designate certain road sections as 'pedestrian priority zones' where road occupancy objects and illegal facilities must be organized to ensure pedestrian safety.

However, many transportation-vulnerable individuals, including the visually impaired, face difficulties due to the installation of street trees, street lamps, or utility poles on narrow sidewalks. Complaints about inconvenient passage are continuously raised to local governments, but effective improvements are not made in a timely manner.

To prevent such problems, various legislations are being pursued in the National Assembly. Kim Mi-ae, a member of the People Power Party, proposed an amendment to the 'Pedestrian Safety and Convenience Promotion Act' (hereinafter Pedestrian Safety Act) to conduct a full survey of sidewalks that do not meet the appropriate width for walking and to reflect improvement measures in the establishment of the 'Basic Pedestrian Safety Plan.'

Additionally, an amendment to the 'Transportation Vulnerable Mobility Convenience Promotion Act' (hereinafter Transportation Vulnerable Act) was proposed to require local government heads to regularly inspect and manage road occupancy objects and illegal facilities that obstruct walking. The purpose is to secure safe walking rights for transportation-vulnerable individuals by regularly inspecting and managing such obstacles in pedestrian priority zones.

However, it is expected to take considerable time from legislation to actual road improvements through full surveys, so transportation-vulnerable individuals are still anticipated to face difficulties.

The tactile paving in front of the crosswalk is oriented toward the roadway instead of the crosswalk direction. If visually impaired individuals follow this tactile paving, they may encounter accidents by colliding with vehicles. Photo by Kim Choyoung, intern reporter choyoung@asiae.co.kr

Experts suggest that our society should pay more attention to the walking rights of visually impaired individuals and that related laws aimed at alleviating their inconveniences and supporting socially vulnerable groups should continue to be enacted.

Professor Jung Jong-hwa, Department of Social Welfare at Samyook University and President of the Korean Welfare Management Association, said regarding road occupancy objects and illegal facilities, "Education to improve civic awareness must be conducted," adding, "While ordinary citizens may not mind the objects placed carelessly, visually impaired individuals collide with them, fall, or suffer accidents."

He continued, "It is clearly illegal under the Road Traffic Act," and said, "While fines are imposed for parking in disabled parking spaces, I have never seen fines imposed for parking kickboards or bicycles on sidewalks," emphasizing the need for thorough crackdowns at the local government level.

As a policy to guarantee walking rights for the visually impaired, he proposed introducing a 'Barrier-Free' certification system instead of having local governments conduct mass repairs of damaged braille blocks at once. 'Barrier-Free' is a movement aimed at enabling elderly or disabled individuals using wheelchairs to live as comfortably as non-disabled people on roads and public facilities.

Professor Jung said, "If a 'Barrier-Free' certification system is introduced, local governments would not only conduct temporary repairs of damaged braille blocks but also move toward making the entire city a long-term livable place for the visually impaired," adding, "This could also serve as a slogan to promote the city."