Visually Impaired - Feedback on Braille received from Toronto Forestry.

DASSP has received feedback from Janette, of Toronto Forestry, on our questions about making SSP more accessible to the Visually Impaired community. DASSP has been connected with the PFR Community Disability Steering Committee, and we will be in touch with them on this important topic.

Janette will also be following up on retrofitting our existing SSP signage for Braille.  Below is the response from Janette...

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The Parks & Trails Wayfinding Strategy followed Transportation Services new pedestrian wayfinding signage Toronto 360 , and as part of those two projects we engaged with a number of accessibility groups, including (but not limited to) CNIB, and PFR's Community Disability Steering Committee. We discussed tactile maps and braille on signs, among other things.

In order to include braille and other tactile elements on signs requires that signs should be installed in very predictable locations, and/or that there are other cues in the environment that indicate where signs are located (like standardized tactile trail surfaces or beacons).

Braille was installed on the first Toronto 360 sign prototype, but when reviewed by the PFR Community Disability Steering Committee, they found that it wasn't very helpful if they couldn't locate the sign in the first place.

Changes would need to be well planned in order for it to be useful. Having said all that, Toronto Forestry can look into what would be involved in retrofitting signs with braille.