Our Project
Between March 9 and May 15, 2020 (ten weeks in total), Team 2gether was participating in the Lapassion@Goiânia 2020 program, and this is the result of all our efforts.
The Lapassion@Goiânia 2020 program changed to work from home project, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, and with the sanitary measures applied, with quarantine and social isolation, it became difficult to contact people and Associations for the disabled Senador Canedo and Goiânia. For this reason, the 2gether team took the initiative to contact people known to our social circle, who had some disability, so that they could inform us about their difficulties for their daily urban mobility. As we posted HERE a few weeks ago, we interviewed friends from Goiás and also from Espírito Santo, in Brazil, and got opinions that could open our eyes to the real problems faced by these people.
Major problems have been reported, such as broken, irregular and uneven sidewalks, with no accessibility; streets full of holes; crosswalks cleared; inaccessible stores; cars parked in front of the access ramps, making it impossible to use; and lack of empathy among the population.
Thus, after much research, discussions and feedbacks, for the challenge proposed to team 2, with the theme "Use of technologies to improve urban mobility for people with specific needs", our proposals to our counterparts, the Municipal Traffic Superintendence and Senador Canedo and Senador Canedo Municipal Secretariat for Education and Culture are as follows.
RUA MODEL FOR ACCESSIBILITY - RUA ADEMAR DE BARROS
The Brazilian Law for Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (Statute for Persons with Disabilities), under Law No. 13,146, of July 6, 2015, establishes in its Chapter II, Article 4, that every person with disabilities has the right to equal opportunities with other people and will not suffer any kind of discrimination. In addition, in Chapter X, Article 46, it establishes that the right to transport and mobility for persons with disabilities or reduced mobility shall be guaranteed on an equal basis with other persons, through the identification and elimination of all obstacles and barriers to access.
Our main suggestion is the creation of an accessible street model in the city of Senador Canedo, which uses accessibility technologies, and which allows easy mobility of people, especially those with disabilities and reduced mobility, offering them the independence of getting around around the city. As shown in the image above, we propose:
- Sectoring sidewalks for accessibility, ensuring adequate space on the sidewalks for locomotion of people in a wheelchair;
- LED public lighting, which allows a better visualization of environments;
- Tactile floors on the sidewalks, to ensure the safe movement of people with visual limitations;
- Recovery of pedestrian crossings and other elements of horizontal traffic signs, which will allow better identification of these elements by people with reduced vision;
- Use of non-slip floors on the sidewalks, to ensure safe walking for all its users;
- Access ramps on the sidewalks, allowing easy crossing of streets by people in wheelchairs or in situations of reduced mobility.
To demonstrate the application of our ideas, and also suggesting the adoption of a model street in the city of Senador Canedo, so that the project could be replicated in other streets in the municipality, Rua Ademar de Barros, in Jardim de Todos os Santos ( Senador Canedo), was chosen as inspiration for the team. Thus, we developed a 3D prototype of the chosen street, indicating the improvements that should be made. The following images show the made drawings.
BEFORE
AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER
For its application, it is strongly recommended to comply with what is established by the Brazilian standards ABNT NBR 9050, which deals with Accessibility to buildings, furniture, spaces and urban equipment; ABNT NBR 14022, which deals with Accessibility in vehicles with urban characteristics for the collective transport of passengers; and ABNT NBR 16537, which deals with Accessibility - Tactile signage on the floor - Guidelines for project design and installation. In addition, it is recommended to use the Brazilian Manual of Traffic Signs, Volume IV - Horizontal Signs, a document prepared by the National Traffic Council - CONTRAN.
ACCESSIBLE BUS STOP
We also noticed the difficulty in using public transportation by people with visual limitations, which according to the Brazilian Census conducted by IBGE in 2010 for the municipality of Senador Canedo, represented 17.5% (14,766 people) of the total population (84,443 people) and 61% of the total number of people with disabilities (24,183 people) in the municipality. The number of people with visual impairments in the city surpassed the number of people with other disabilities and, therefore, received greater attention from the team.
Thus, together with the creation of the model street for accessibility, we propose the creation of the Accessible Bus Station.
Our accessible bus stop proposal includes:
Space reserved for wheelchair users, allowing adequate wheelchair accommodation under the protection structure of the bus stop;
Tactile floors, to ensure that the person with visual impairment can properly locate themselves at the bus stop;
Sign with information in Braille, indicating the main information of the bus lines of the respective point and allowing the reading and understanding by people with visual impairments.
Interactive screen with vocalization of information, which is made available by the SiMRmtc system already implemented in the local metropolitan region, and the vocalization of information performed by pressing a button located next to the screen, also indicated by a Braille warning, which will allow people with visual limitations can hear and understand the information on the screen.
The following videos shows the prototype of how the interactive screen suggested by the team should work.
The use of the interactive screen + button for vocalization of information proves to be a viable implementation project, as it has the following benefits:
1. Greater independence in the use of public transport for people with visual limitations;
2. Simple and easy to use screen interface, with Braille notice for people with visual impairments;
3. Real-time information about bus schedules on the screen, so people in general can use it;
4. The implementation of the interactive screen that allows vocalization + button has a cheap budget, not exceeding R $ 600.00 (according to market research conducted by the team).
HOW TO MAKE IT HAPPEN?
"ADOPT A SIDEWALK" PROGRAM
Through the support of our counterparts and the collection of the local population, the Senador Canedo City Hall can use the available resources to make the necessary changes to the city streets, making them accessible to people with disabilities and reduced mobility. However, according to the Posture Code of the Municipality of Senador Canedo, established by Law No. 1,596/11, of October 5, 2011, it is the responsibility of the resident of the surrounding land to carry out the construction and repair of their sidewalk. Realizing that the region's residents may not have enough financial resources to make the necessary changes to the sidewalks, we suggest the implementation of the "Adopt a Sidewalk" Program, so that the Street Model for Accessibility project can become, in its entirety, something possible.
The following links present important information about the program, such as the criteria to be adopted and benefits to adopters, as well as the prototype of the flyer suggested by Team 2gether.
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM + ALL TOGETHER DAY EVENT
Team 2gether also suggests the creation of an Educational Program, to be implemented in the municipality of Senador Canedo from the realization of a socio-cultural event, which will kick-start the establishment of the inclusion program in the municipality. For the All Together Day Event, it is proposed to hold lectures, debates, games, cultural presentations and activities in general.
The Educational Program, together with the socio-cultural event, will aim to inform the local population about the project ideas proposed by Team 2gether, as well as to show the local population the importance of accessibility projects that allow inclusion in urban environments. There will also be an incentive for the population to demand accessibility projects from the local government in the city of Senador Canedo, so that it can present greater benefits for the urban mobility of the entire population of the municipality.
In addition, it is important to highlight that the Educational Program also has as an important role the reflection and awareness of the population about respect for people with disabilities and the mobility difficulties with which they live, allowing empathy to develop in the population, so that they work to improve conditions and structures for better care for people with disabilities.
The following links present the contents prepared by Team 2gether for the socio-cultural event + educational program in the municipality of Senador Canedo.
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