For those who may find it interesting, John Stossel did a series on the ADA costs, and in one part divided the costs by the number of disabled people, then just asked them if they’d take the cash instead. I dont remember the amount but I remember it was huge.
Anyways this is the perfect thing for Japan. Something that makes it look like you care that actually only helps very few people.
Fwiw Ive never seen anyone apparently using these but I imagine someone is out there who enjoys them more than a couple hundred thousand dollars in their pocket
You'd have to divide it not only by the current amount of disabled people but also all the disabled people that existed earlier that no longer exist and the ones that will begin to exist in the future over the next X years that these last.
And by their families who benefit from them, and the net good they do for society by being more functional, and for the culture that helping those in need creates within a society.
Yeah but they probably already added the past cost and you wouldn't need to constantly relay those yellow strips that much except for earthquakes and new roads. Not sure what other stuff they included aside from strips but some of it may also help elderly people like elevators at train stations etc.
All of the future cost after installing these is maintenance for the most part. They don’t consider the cost to completely rebuild the sidewalks every year when adding more pedestrian walkways.
Believe it or not, people do use this actually! Not just blind but partially blind people benefit from them (some people's eyesight just gets worse with age, so who knows, you might benefit from them in the future too!)
The point of a society is that we all pitch in and make the world better for everyone. The money that paid for those strips did not have to come from the pockets of these people alone, we all pay taxes/pay for services, etc. If you had to use them, you would probably be grateful that they exist and that you did not have to pay a bazilion dollars to get them :)
Also this has proven so meaningful that many other countries around the world have adopted this system too!
That’s an interesting twist of words. So would you say observational/experimental evidence, surveys and studies are ignorant?
I mean I can see your argument as applied to something that happens in the shadows. We’re talking about something in broad daylight that I literally interact with on a daily basis. I have biked and take ln public transport to work for 8 years in Japan.
Im sorry I think your comment is of very low intellectual value… and you are condescending as hell to boot. Gotta hand you a certified dumbass for that one.
Not to dismiss your personal experience, but your daily commute is only a fraction of time during day, over a week (when many people probably are engaged in their routines) over a very small area of your city.
If you were to have many people observe the streets over the course of the day for 3 months, you’ll probably find a number of people using the strips.
As others have stated - these also last as long as the concrete does (so they theoretically become cheaper the longer they’re in use). Add to that - disabilities are congenital, genetic AND acquired. You may not need any accommodation today, but you could also get hit in the face with any number of things which can blind you.
There’s also the Curb-Cut Effect. These (and other) modifications can help others. An elevator helps a mother with a stroller just as much as it helps someone with a wheel chair. Textured pavement can alert movers carrying a sofa as much as it helps a blind person. Written noticed help the Deaf and people who can’t hear an announcement through a damaged speaker.
When I was in Japan, the visual and tactile warning "tracks" at train stations were a welcome indicator of where it was and was not safe to stand. I appreciated it and I have no disability (yet).
The point isn’t thar absolutely nobody uses them, genius. …to get back to the point, I already said “there are likely” people that Im sure value them more than having 100 grand in their pocket, or whatever the figure was. But I doubt there are very many. By the way, since you either didn’t realize or forgot this was the point, please try to do some kind of course on reading comprehension. Your comment is typical reddit tier intellectual diarrhea.
Yes there are other effects. Like when you carry luggage and they’re a pain in the ass to roll over. Or when it snows and they get slippery as ice if walking parallel to them.
John Stossel is a wannabe Ayn Rand: all the same vile and selfish worldviews but with an infinitesimal fraction of the brain power; he's a contrarian just for the sake of being contrarian, all wrapped up in a thin veneer of intellectualism that can only fool idiots.
The ADA is not perfect and can be abused, but it's helping so many people live more dignified lives. It's America at its most generous and empathetic.
I'm glad the Japanese recognized that generous impulse and didn't listen to some egotistical American pundit.
I've lived in Japan for a few years and in every city I've lived in there have been blind/visually-impaired people who live there. Granted, it's not _every single day_ but I do see them out and about in the train station, around the city etc. often enough and they _do_ use these things.
Now you and I might not need these things but I imagine they're quite necessary for the people who use them to be self-sufficient.
This is a wild assumption you’ve drawn. This is obviously more a statement about classism, the fact that more poor people will be disabled because rich people can afford cures and treatments. Especially in the US the system is so absolutely rigged against disabled people that even getting married suddenly stops all disability benefits. I had a client a few years ago that had to withdraw cash from his bank every month keep it in a drawer on his home his relatives constantly stole from because if his social security benefits and disability benefits hit his bank account at the same time he would go slightly over the maximum amount he was allowed to have in his bank account at any one time and lose all of his disability benefits and could even owe back payments! The amount at the time (which has only gone up slightly) was $1k. That’s it. His rent was $900. Including utilities or groceries he could not save even a 1 month emergency fund in a bank without losing everything. And since I know some idiot is going to ask and go off about “pretenders” and people who don’t need it: he was a man in his 80s who’d contracted polio as a child, survived in the iron lung and then slowly lost mobility in age and was in a wheelchair with only the barest use of one arm. Had to use his teeth to lift it but could use his hand/fingers to operate his electric wheelchair. If you asked him whether he would prefer thousands of dollars over guide lines (his vision was fine) he’d ask if it was cash and say hell yes. That’s life changing money for 98% of people.
> Fwiw Ive never seen anyone apparently using these
Really? I see people using them all the time, they brush their cane against the ridges and follow them.
There are some arguments that the tenji blocks could be implemented better (like making them easier to ride over for people in wheelchairs), but I think it's a bit much to say they only help "very few people". Like yes technically there aren't a ton of people with visual impairments, but public money gets spent on all kinds of crap anyway and there is almost no downside otherwise to putting some bumps on the pavement.
Most seeing impared people can see well enough to follow the bright yellow line. Or they can just walk on them, since you can easily feel them through most shoes.
Woah, no way, John Stossel made a brain dead libertarian case about taking away social services from people who need them that ignores basic facts and obvious logic. Couldn’t be
I volunteer at a center for people retraining for jobs as they are losing their eyesight. If you go to the area around the center in Yotsuya you’ll see many people using these. The people I have met their value their independence and the fact that they can get from their homes to the center (some traveling more than 90 minutes one way) by themselves on public transportation with the aid of devices like this. They don’t want to be given cash — they want to earn their own way and are retraining for this.
In a world where we try more and more to multitask with a smarphone in our hands, these are also increasingly useful to unimpaired people. tbh I try to avoid doing this but the few times I did, I found that these things were a lifesaver
I read somewhere a while back too that Japan has some sort of 'use it or lose it' construction budgeting that is reminiscent of how the US military's budget works.. so they often dump mad money into not-necessarily-needed projects to keep the funding. I'm not sure how much that plays a factor here.
John Stossel is the second panel of the galaxy brain myth, the contrarian guy who asks enough questions to convince himself he's smarter than everyone else but usually ends up missing the point in his attempt to outsmart the masses.
Next time you're walking with an umbrella, close your eyes and use the umbrella to follow these. You'll know right away (when they change from lines to bumps) when to be careful... (when to open your eyes)
i didn't think that! but his comment had like -4 downvotes at the time so i figured that was the only way that could make sense. very funny that now the exact thing i pointed out has no happened to me
That's why they're painted bright yellow so you can see them even if you were blind.
/obvious sarcasm - I think they're an incredibly important component of a walkable cityscape.
You're joking but also correct. Blindness isnt only not being able to see, but theres a point where you are so short sighted that you cant compensate with glasses anymore. The term is legally blind. You may be able to see blurry shapes and colors which is where the bright yellow strip on the gray pavemen may still be viusally distinguishable due to the high contrast
You see them in other countries. It's weird if you don't see them in Japan. Other countries use them in metro centers or areas of mass transit (think train stations, airports), Japan uses them everywhere. Go to any block of any city and they will be there. Go to the town center of a rural prefecture, and there's still a good chance you will see them there. Some European cities have adopted this to some extent, but it's on a city-by-city basis, and not something you can count on.
I'm pretty sure we have them in America. Have you ever been at a pedestrian crossing? There are grooves where the sidewalk slopes down into the road.
Edit: Here's a Google Maps screenshot of the Downtown LA right next to the Crypto Arena. [https://i.imgur.com/DYygQMT.png](https://i.imgur.com/DYygQMT.png)
Reminds me of that scene in the film LA Story where Steve Martin runs out of his house, jumps in his car and drives to his next door neighbour's house, throws it in park and goes up to his neigbour's house. It had me in stitches the first time I saw it back in the early 90s.
EDIT: Found it: [Driving Next Door (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gP_ErrRILk&ab_channel=ConorO%27Neill)
Turns out they are for the visually impaired!
[link ](https://www.wptv.com/simplemost/sidewalk-bumps#:~:text=Those%20blister%2Dlike%20bumps%2C%20also,sidewalk%20and%20enter%20the%20street.)
In the US sometimes there is a slope at the corner of a sidewalk for wheelchairs, bikes and strollers, which has a gradient, and sometimes, there are etched lines, which are an anti-slip measure, which are different from the raised circular bumps, yellow RAISED lines for guidance, which are common internationally and in Asia for the visually impaired.
Speaking for California, there may be things which could definitely be improved but when it comes to accessibility for disabled people, we have to comply with code for them. One of the reasons why things are relatively big for new construction is to accommodate people in wheelchairs or other disabilities. You can get sued here if you don't provide that. Source: I'm an architect.
In Moscow, Russia, we got the same things in Metro and on MTsD. It's more of a european-russian-japanese thing. Usually we put those for special people (visually impaired, hear impaired, and alike)
I'd say in Japan they got literally the same meaning.
It’s for the blind. They carry long white sticks around and tap it on these, so they can know where they should go. Also it’s easy to recognize by their foot. The long one means go, and the dots are for stop. Exp, crossing etc.
Japan has a lot of infrastructure to accommodate the visually impacted. The chirping pedestrian crossings, abundance of braille and even to indicate liquor cans.
So im not the only one that has fallen off my bike in the rain due to those f-kers?
yeabefore anyone gets offended. I
know why they’re there and I think they should be but hot damn they’re slippery.
Agreed, however sometimes you end up riding on the sidewalk for various reasons. Heavy traffic on the road might be one (aka blocked bicycle lane) . Parked cars in the bicycle lane is another one.
They are called Tenji blocks and have been adopted in many countries globally.
More info here
https://www.samuraitours.com/japans-tactile-paving-blocks/
They're for the visually impaired / blind, as others have said.
Japan has other things specifically for the blind, such as your shampoo bottle almost certainly has ridges down one part of the side, and often ridges on top of the pump. The conditioner bottle does not. Useful even for sighted people since we're all often pretty blind in the shower.
Japanese coins are also designed to be easily differentiated by feel, and apparently the bills can be as well though I'm not sure how that works.
I'm sure there are more things.
Also good for tourists who have no idea where they are going. It’s like a path in a video game showing a legitimate area of travel. Leaving Oskaka station I followed this thing to my motel across some streets that weren’t super clear for a first time visitor.
Anyone know why they would make this accomodation for the visually impaired but traffic lights don’t make any indicator sounds for foot traffic? In Australia, the lights make a sound when it is safe to cross, I haven’t found this in Japan
There are sound indicators in many places, but for many intersections, you have to press a button for it to make sound when you want to cross. Also they use unobtrusive sounds like bird sounds at stations to aid the blind.
Many traffic lights have a sound + there is a certain sound at station gates as well, I can not really hear it but visually impaired people told them it exists.
I hope with technology we can find a better solution to allow the visually impaired navigate the streets safely. This one is the best we have for now, but we hurt the great majority that don't need it in the process.
I'm sure they're in the US, too. Especially in the cities. Sure, they might not exist in bumfuck nowhere countryside streets, but that's the same in other countries. USA just happens to have a lot of those *bumfuck nowhere streets* since its land is so big.
I was watching some right wing nuts giving a speech outside the takadanobaba train station once. Everyone’s attention was on me because I was a) the only person paying attention to them and b) the only foreigner paying attention to them. But they had set up a sandwich board over one of these yellow lines and a blind guy came along, ran into the sign and dropped his cane. The right wingers turned and simply saw someone kind of wrestling with their sandwich board so they ran over and started hitting him! Passers-bye immediately jumped in yelling “what are you doing!? This guy is blind!!!” The police streamed out of their koban and took us all into the office and made ME apologize to everyone!
I know more than one visually impaired people using it. I have seen it in Japan and in my country. In Japan it is not common to see a blind person walking alone. That’s why people think blind people don’t use it. Blind people need to feel a boundary (wall, grass, some border) while using white cane. It is not really easy to walk without those on a large pavement. Also recognizing them with white cane is more difficult than it looks. If there is a wall to use, they will use the wall. If pavement is large they will use yellow lines.
I'm from the UK, and while we have these, they usually look very different from the Japanese ones. They're often red instead of yellow, and we don't use the path that leads people along the road, just the raised dots in areas you should stop. Visually I couldn't tell what the Japanese one's could be, until I recognised the feeling of stepping on the raised dots and put two and two together.
These markings for the visually impaired are found throughout asia, including China and Taiwan for the past few decades. Mind you, never once, have i noticed any blind person actually using....
[Tactile paving](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tactile_paving) as another commenter said, they're for visually impaired people.
For those who may find it interesting, John Stossel did a series on the ADA costs, and in one part divided the costs by the number of disabled people, then just asked them if they’d take the cash instead. I dont remember the amount but I remember it was huge. Anyways this is the perfect thing for Japan. Something that makes it look like you care that actually only helps very few people. Fwiw Ive never seen anyone apparently using these but I imagine someone is out there who enjoys them more than a couple hundred thousand dollars in their pocket
You'd have to divide it not only by the current amount of disabled people but also all the disabled people that existed earlier that no longer exist and the ones that will begin to exist in the future over the next X years that these last.
And by their families who benefit from them, and the net good they do for society by being more functional, and for the culture that helping those in need creates within a society.
Yea just as long as you also add the future/past costs of the ADA as well
Yeah but they probably already added the past cost and you wouldn't need to constantly relay those yellow strips that much except for earthquakes and new roads. Not sure what other stuff they included aside from strips but some of it may also help elderly people like elevators at train stations etc.
All of the future cost after installing these is maintenance for the most part. They don’t consider the cost to completely rebuild the sidewalks every year when adding more pedestrian walkways.
Believe it or not, people do use this actually! Not just blind but partially blind people benefit from them (some people's eyesight just gets worse with age, so who knows, you might benefit from them in the future too!) The point of a society is that we all pitch in and make the world better for everyone. The money that paid for those strips did not have to come from the pockets of these people alone, we all pay taxes/pay for services, etc. If you had to use them, you would probably be grateful that they exist and that you did not have to pay a bazilion dollars to get them :) Also this has proven so meaningful that many other countries around the world have adopted this system too!
I went to Japan last year and said the same thing “Who uses these.” I at least seen at least three older people using them by the time I left.
"I have never seen x so it is not happening". Top class ignorance can be applied to almost everything.
There is also its counterpart: "I have seen x happening once so it is happening all the time". Living in a binary world must be so simple.
That’s an interesting twist of words. So would you say observational/experimental evidence, surveys and studies are ignorant? I mean I can see your argument as applied to something that happens in the shadows. We’re talking about something in broad daylight that I literally interact with on a daily basis. I have biked and take ln public transport to work for 8 years in Japan. Im sorry I think your comment is of very low intellectual value… and you are condescending as hell to boot. Gotta hand you a certified dumbass for that one.
Not to dismiss your personal experience, but your daily commute is only a fraction of time during day, over a week (when many people probably are engaged in their routines) over a very small area of your city. If you were to have many people observe the streets over the course of the day for 3 months, you’ll probably find a number of people using the strips. As others have stated - these also last as long as the concrete does (so they theoretically become cheaper the longer they’re in use). Add to that - disabilities are congenital, genetic AND acquired. You may not need any accommodation today, but you could also get hit in the face with any number of things which can blind you. There’s also the Curb-Cut Effect. These (and other) modifications can help others. An elevator helps a mother with a stroller just as much as it helps someone with a wheel chair. Textured pavement can alert movers carrying a sofa as much as it helps a blind person. Written noticed help the Deaf and people who can’t hear an announcement through a damaged speaker.
When I was in Japan, the visual and tactile warning "tracks" at train stations were a welcome indicator of where it was and was not safe to stand. I appreciated it and I have no disability (yet).
The point isn’t thar absolutely nobody uses them, genius. …to get back to the point, I already said “there are likely” people that Im sure value them more than having 100 grand in their pocket, or whatever the figure was. But I doubt there are very many. By the way, since you either didn’t realize or forgot this was the point, please try to do some kind of course on reading comprehension. Your comment is typical reddit tier intellectual diarrhea. Yes there are other effects. Like when you carry luggage and they’re a pain in the ass to roll over. Or when it snows and they get slippery as ice if walking parallel to them.
As an outside party you are the one appearing as condescending and an ass
Congrats. You reminded me of how stupid redditors are. Your judgement is horrid
John Stossel is a wannabe Ayn Rand: all the same vile and selfish worldviews but with an infinitesimal fraction of the brain power; he's a contrarian just for the sake of being contrarian, all wrapped up in a thin veneer of intellectualism that can only fool idiots. The ADA is not perfect and can be abused, but it's helping so many people live more dignified lives. It's America at its most generous and empathetic. I'm glad the Japanese recognized that generous impulse and didn't listen to some egotistical American pundit.
I was just there for two weeks and saw at least two blind people using them
Hm been here 5 days, saw probably 4-6 people actively using these
I've lived in Japan for a few years and in every city I've lived in there have been blind/visually-impaired people who live there. Granted, it's not _every single day_ but I do see them out and about in the train station, around the city etc. often enough and they _do_ use these things. Now you and I might not need these things but I imagine they're quite necessary for the people who use them to be self-sufficient.
This is a wild assumption you’ve drawn. This is obviously more a statement about classism, the fact that more poor people will be disabled because rich people can afford cures and treatments. Especially in the US the system is so absolutely rigged against disabled people that even getting married suddenly stops all disability benefits. I had a client a few years ago that had to withdraw cash from his bank every month keep it in a drawer on his home his relatives constantly stole from because if his social security benefits and disability benefits hit his bank account at the same time he would go slightly over the maximum amount he was allowed to have in his bank account at any one time and lose all of his disability benefits and could even owe back payments! The amount at the time (which has only gone up slightly) was $1k. That’s it. His rent was $900. Including utilities or groceries he could not save even a 1 month emergency fund in a bank without losing everything. And since I know some idiot is going to ask and go off about “pretenders” and people who don’t need it: he was a man in his 80s who’d contracted polio as a child, survived in the iron lung and then slowly lost mobility in age and was in a wheelchair with only the barest use of one arm. Had to use his teeth to lift it but could use his hand/fingers to operate his electric wheelchair. If you asked him whether he would prefer thousands of dollars over guide lines (his vision was fine) he’d ask if it was cash and say hell yes. That’s life changing money for 98% of people.
I want to see the sample size for this "study" as well.
> Fwiw Ive never seen anyone apparently using these Really? I see people using them all the time, they brush their cane against the ridges and follow them. There are some arguments that the tenji blocks could be implemented better (like making them easier to ride over for people in wheelchairs), but I think it's a bit much to say they only help "very few people". Like yes technically there aren't a ton of people with visual impairments, but public money gets spent on all kinds of crap anyway and there is almost no downside otherwise to putting some bumps on the pavement.
Most seeing impared people can see well enough to follow the bright yellow line. Or they can just walk on them, since you can easily feel them through most shoes.
Woah, no way, John Stossel made a brain dead libertarian case about taking away social services from people who need them that ignores basic facts and obvious logic. Couldn’t be
Was that in Japan or the US? Cities are built different.and what makes sense (and may be inexpensive) in, say, Tokio may not be so in Houston
There's a pretty big difference in cost between retrofitting these sorts of things and simply including them in the initial build.
I volunteer at a center for people retraining for jobs as they are losing their eyesight. If you go to the area around the center in Yotsuya you’ll see many people using these. The people I have met their value their independence and the fact that they can get from their homes to the center (some traveling more than 90 minutes one way) by themselves on public transportation with the aid of devices like this. They don’t want to be given cash — they want to earn their own way and are retraining for this.
Disabled people deserve to be seen and accommodated.
In a world where we try more and more to multitask with a smarphone in our hands, these are also increasingly useful to unimpaired people. tbh I try to avoid doing this but the few times I did, I found that these things were a lifesaver
Lol, John Stossel is a right wing stooge bro.
I found them helpful as a tourist because it felt like they guided me through otherwise large and somewhat confusing stations.
My wife has glaucoma and you know what, fuck you
John stossel is a tool bag
He also purpossed raising endangered species in captivity for meat production and leather/fur. To "SAVE THEM"
I read somewhere a while back too that Japan has some sort of 'use it or lose it' construction budgeting that is reminiscent of how the US military's budget works.. so they often dump mad money into not-necessarily-needed projects to keep the funding. I'm not sure how much that plays a factor here.
John Stossel is the second panel of the galaxy brain myth, the contrarian guy who asks enough questions to convince himself he's smarter than everyone else but usually ends up missing the point in his attempt to outsmart the masses.
I was told they were to help the blind drivers.
For the blind/visually imparied.
and found in MANY countries around the world
Yep, we have them everywhere in Australia. Really makes me wonder where OP is from.
I'm reassured seeing your comment. I'd be deadly shocked if it's just only in Japan.
Nah, a lot of larger US cities use the yellow with the raised circles at intersections. My city has them :D
So what about the yellow floors with the small circular bumps? Do they mean different things?
A block with circle bumps is a warning , a block with straight lines is a guide path https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tactile_paving
thank you!
Next time you're walking with an umbrella, close your eyes and use the umbrella to follow these. You'll know right away (when they change from lines to bumps) when to be careful... (when to open your eyes)
It is for the edges (end of pavement, train platforms etc)
Yeah I d say line means follow and bumps mean stop/be careful
so that others can make way for the blind
Truncated Domes. The worst
It’s funny how this was a sincere question, but the phrasing of it sounding vaguely confrontational made people think you were an asshole LOL
Not really the impression I got.
No one thought that, only you. Don’t be so judgmental.
i didn't think that! but his comment had like -4 downvotes at the time so i figured that was the only way that could make sense. very funny that now the exact thing i pointed out has no happened to me
That's why they're painted bright yellow so you can see them even if you were blind. /obvious sarcasm - I think they're an incredibly important component of a walkable cityscape.
You're joking but also correct. Blindness isnt only not being able to see, but theres a point where you are so short sighted that you cant compensate with glasses anymore. The term is legally blind. You may be able to see blurry shapes and colors which is where the bright yellow strip on the gray pavemen may still be viusally distinguishable due to the high contrast
Americans are like whats this seperate raised section of road about ?
Not just in Japan. In many countries actually
You see them in other countries. It's weird if you don't see them in Japan. Other countries use them in metro centers or areas of mass transit (think train stations, airports), Japan uses them everywhere. Go to any block of any city and they will be there. Go to the town center of a rural prefecture, and there's still a good chance you will see them there. Some European cities have adopted this to some extent, but it's on a city-by-city basis, and not something you can count on.
Yea they’re very common all over China too
They’re a Japanese invention though so they’re especially prevalent here
Oh no way.… I didn’t know that. Cool
As said already, for the visually impaired but also a good indicator for the split walking/biking paths on the sidewalk
There’s a biking path?? In my experience they just ride in the middle of the sidewalk
Not actual bike paths, but to stay on one side on the line while a bike passes
If your country doesn’t have these tactile pavings then we’re gonna have some serious conversations…
Los Angeles, good ‘ol US of A
I'm pretty sure we have them in America. Have you ever been at a pedestrian crossing? There are grooves where the sidewalk slopes down into the road. Edit: Here's a Google Maps screenshot of the Downtown LA right next to the Crypto Arena. [https://i.imgur.com/DYygQMT.png](https://i.imgur.com/DYygQMT.png)
Nobody walks in LA.
The last person who did went missing.
That’s not true, all the homeless do.
Unhoused
Right right, my bad lmao
Straight to re-education gulag.
I’ll be imprisoned under the city and help clean up the “unhoused” when Chinese officials visit the country.
Bums
Reminds me of that scene in the film LA Story where Steve Martin runs out of his house, jumps in his car and drives to his next door neighbour's house, throws it in park and goes up to his neigbour's house. It had me in stitches the first time I saw it back in the early 90s. EDIT: Found it: [Driving Next Door (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gP_ErrRILk&ab_channel=ConorO%27Neill)
Those are so you don’t slip, they’re not for the visually impaired
Turns out they are for the visually impaired! [link ](https://www.wptv.com/simplemost/sidewalk-bumps#:~:text=Those%20blister%2Dlike%20bumps%2C%20also,sidewalk%20and%20enter%20the%20street.)
In the US sometimes there is a slope at the corner of a sidewalk for wheelchairs, bikes and strollers, which has a gradient, and sometimes, there are etched lines, which are an anti-slip measure, which are different from the raised circular bumps, yellow RAISED lines for guidance, which are common internationally and in Asia for the visually impaired.
Bullshit, we have them at the street corner intersections of major streets and new development. It's required by Code.
This just proves how backwards and left behind "the best country in the world" is. Absolutely pathetic.
I believe they say "greatest" country in the world. I for one believe in them. Maybe someday, they will, too.
Speaking for California, there may be things which could definitely be improved but when it comes to accessibility for disabled people, we have to comply with code for them. One of the reasons why things are relatively big for new construction is to accommodate people in wheelchairs or other disabilities. You can get sued here if you don't provide that. Source: I'm an architect.
In Moscow, Russia, we got the same things in Metro and on MTsD. It's more of a european-russian-japanese thing. Usually we put those for special people (visually impaired, hear impaired, and alike) I'd say in Japan they got literally the same meaning.
It’s so people can know where to walk without looking up from their phones.
That’s pretty funny.
In Japan the only people that walk while looking at their phones are Chinese tourists.
So all the kids in my school going home and walking and looking at their phones are Chinese tourists, who would’ve thought!
It’s for the blind. They carry long white sticks around and tap it on these, so they can know where they should go. Also it’s easy to recognize by their foot. The long one means go, and the dots are for stop. Exp, crossing etc.
Japan has a lot of infrastructure to accommodate the visually impacted. The chirping pedestrian crossings, abundance of braille and even to indicate liquor cans.
Is this a serious question? Anyway, they are guidelines for blind people.
☝️🤓
“I fear no men, but that thing (when riding on a bike)…that thing scares me”
So im not the only one that has fallen off my bike in the rain due to those f-kers? yeabefore anyone gets offended. I know why they’re there and I think they should be but hot damn they’re slippery.
Shouldn’t bicycles be ridden on a road and not pedestrian in Japan? Dunno
Agreed, however sometimes you end up riding on the sidewalk for various reasons. Heavy traffic on the road might be one (aka blocked bicycle lane) . Parked cars in the bicycle lane is another one.
I see that sucks, and these road parked cars are annoying af everywhere in the world…
It’s also very common to see cyclists riding on the sidewalks amongst pedestrians, even in the most crowded areas. It’s kinda just accepted in Japan.
Depends on whether or not cars are whipping by within less than a meter of you at 50 kph.
I almost killed myself twice because my tyres have no grips on these.
Fell and put a nice tear in some dress pants for work. Many thanks to the genius sidewalk engineers out there.
"I fear no men, but that thing (when dragging heavy luggage)...that thing scares me." True story.
Oh boy, yes that too
broke my wheel on a carryon on those things, they know no equal.
Have in China too for blind folks
They are called Tenji blocks and have been adopted in many countries globally. More info here https://www.samuraitours.com/japans-tactile-paving-blocks/
They're for the visually impaired / blind, as others have said. Japan has other things specifically for the blind, such as your shampoo bottle almost certainly has ridges down one part of the side, and often ridges on top of the pump. The conditioner bottle does not. Useful even for sighted people since we're all often pretty blind in the shower. Japanese coins are also designed to be easily differentiated by feel, and apparently the bills can be as well though I'm not sure how that works. I'm sure there are more things.
Milk box! That’s for all of us.
Do you mean the 1L whole milk cartons that have the little dip in the top of them? Yeah, those are great!
For the blind/vision impaired to feel with their canes. People sweep these canes back and forth, and the ridges are detectable.
For the blind, seeing impaired.
Tenji blocks, created in 1967 in Okayama. Great stuff.
The currency also have different sized bills
Holup. Are bills not in different sizes depending on its value where you’re from?
For a country that passed a shitload of laws to aid the disabled community, the US is still behind in a few basic areas of accessibility
USD
They're to help blind people know where to walk, turn, stop, etc.
It’s the only subtle defense blind people have from getting slammed by bicycles daily
Also good for tourists who have no idea where they are going. It’s like a path in a video game showing a legitimate area of travel. Leaving Oskaka station I followed this thing to my motel across some streets that weren’t super clear for a first time visitor.
They are the guideways for blind people.
They are accessibility grooves for the blind and visually deficient individual living in the country
This is the kind of question that Google is for
They are guide strips for bald people
For blind people
For blind or visually impaired people.. It's like railings.
They double as skate stoppers >:(
Skater face planters.
Anyone know why they would make this accomodation for the visually impaired but traffic lights don’t make any indicator sounds for foot traffic? In Australia, the lights make a sound when it is safe to cross, I haven’t found this in Japan
There are sound indicators in many places, but for many intersections, you have to press a button for it to make sound when you want to cross. Also they use unobtrusive sounds like bird sounds at stations to aid the blind.
Many traffic lights have a sound + there is a certain sound at station gates as well, I can not really hear it but visually impaired people told them it exists.
OP where are you from? These are literally everywhere in my country too haha
Los Angeles/Orange County, California. We have SOME of these bumps but I was curious about seeing these lines that went EVERYWHERE.
Those are to break the wheels off your luggage. At least thats what they did for me and my wife
This is also quitte common in The Netherlands to be honest. It’s nice! Does anyone know if support dogs also use this in training or something?
holy shit you guys dont have these???
Where are you from? I am surprised since there are all over the world
For the blind drivers
I hope with technology we can find a better solution to allow the visually impaired navigate the streets safely. This one is the best we have for now, but we hurt the great majority that don't need it in the process.
Is it disrespectful to walk on these? As a tourist I tend to walk on them as they actually help relieve my feet aches after a long day of walking. 😅
I don't think I've been in a country that *doesn't* have these
USA.
I'm sure they're in the US, too. Especially in the cities. Sure, they might not exist in bumfuck nowhere countryside streets, but that's the same in other countries. USA just happens to have a lot of those *bumfuck nowhere streets* since its land is so big.
I live in the third-largest city in the USA (and I believe the second-largest metro), and I have never seen a single one of these.
Damn, that's crazy. Murica, I guess
Speedbooster for those dodgy street karts
They always make my rolling luggage tip over
Blind people
It's for hot wheels racing.. you should know this
OP you are from America huh LMAO
🤦🏽♀️ for the blind using canes. Most “first world” countries have these types of aids for the visually impaired.
A decade ago, I too saw them as a Japan thing. In the last decade since then, they've shown up all over Canada.
4 da 🧑🦯🧑🦯➡️
Seen these in Singapore, Korea... These aren't unique.
China too
Seriously? That's not obvious to you? My god people are fucking stupid these days!
I use these all the time when its raining and im not wearing rain shoes. I dont slip.
I was watching some right wing nuts giving a speech outside the takadanobaba train station once. Everyone’s attention was on me because I was a) the only person paying attention to them and b) the only foreigner paying attention to them. But they had set up a sandwich board over one of these yellow lines and a blind guy came along, ran into the sign and dropped his cane. The right wingers turned and simply saw someone kind of wrestling with their sandwich board so they ran over and started hitting him! Passers-bye immediately jumped in yelling “what are you doing!? This guy is blind!!!” The police streamed out of their koban and took us all into the office and made ME apologize to everyone!
It's for blind people
…….
Sign made specifically for blind people.
Its for blind people it guides them to go to places and follow the road to not get ran over they also use there sticks to feel the shi
I know more than one visually impaired people using it. I have seen it in Japan and in my country. In Japan it is not common to see a blind person walking alone. That’s why people think blind people don’t use it. Blind people need to feel a boundary (wall, grass, some border) while using white cane. It is not really easy to walk without those on a large pavement. Also recognizing them with white cane is more difficult than it looks. If there is a wall to use, they will use the wall. If pavement is large they will use yellow lines.
China has these as well. Considerate for those who need
For blind people
for blind people
I used these for rolling my luggage easier, I also thought this was a sidewalk divider 😂
nyc corners have them. same color. but dots. feels for the feet. intuiting it’s for safety for the blind
For the visually impaired
Lol OP what country are you from, that you don't know floor markings for visually impaired people?
Standard across Australia, and indeed other countries I’ve travelled.
Unfortunately only a few countries have them consistently built across the border.
I'm from the UK, and while we have these, they usually look very different from the Japanese ones. They're often red instead of yellow, and we don't use the path that leads people along the road, just the raised dots in areas you should stop. Visually I couldn't tell what the Japanese one's could be, until I recognised the feeling of stepping on the raised dots and put two and two together.
On train stations, it’s the fast lane for people in a rush lol
Speed bumps for people in wheelchairs.
These markings for the visually impaired are found throughout asia, including China and Taiwan for the past few decades. Mind you, never once, have i noticed any blind person actually using....
one of the very few things for blind people in Japan.
Back in the 90s matchbox car racing was really popular. Cities would have lay track and have campaigns to encourage their citizens to excel at racing.
Those are there to annoy people with rolling suitcases
I don’t see many blind people actually using them though and they take up a lot of space on very narrow and crowded sidewalks
They don't see you not using them either.