Proceedings of the 6rd International Conference on Civil Structural and Transportation Engineering (ICCSTE'21)

Niagara Falls, Canada – May 17-19, 2021

Paper No. 147 (The number assigned by the OpenConf System)
DOI: TBA

Accessible Design Proposal for an Urban Intersection to Improve the

Mobility of People with Physical Disabilities
K Fernández1, C Santisteban2, A Sánchez31
1
Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas
Prolongación Primavera 2390, Lima 15023, Peru
u201524194@upc.edu.pe; u201220175@upc.edu.pe

Abstract - One of the aspects that is currently no longer taken into account within Lima, Peru, is the consideration of accessibility and
universal design in the creation of urban road environments. The lack of inclusion of accessibility standards has a negative impact and
makes society not work efficiently and people cannot move freely and fully using the resources and materials that it provides. For this
reason, it is essential that every society has the infrastructure and public services designed in an accessible way, this is how the
proposal to include these factors within the Peruvian regulations arises in order that there is an improvement in the mobility of people,
mainly people with physical disabilities. Having accessible physical spaces and positive attitudes towards this population group of
people positively influences their opportunities and participation, quality of life, as well as their personal development. For this reason,
in the present investigation a "Wayfinding" Spatial Orientation System was implemented so that people with physical disabilities can
locate, find out and move from one place to another within a public space autonomously with the resources that the same environment
provides. For this, the width and slopes of the ramps were modified, as well as the unevenness that the road environment currently has.
Finally, the proper maintenance of the study area was proposed to improve its preservation and condition, as well as the installation of
informational resources with which the end user will be able to locate, guide and move efficiently and safely.

Keywords: Accessible design, mobility, universal design, physical disability

1. Introduction
Universal Design is becoming more important worldwide due to the increase in population and the inclusion of people
with disabilities in day-to-day activities. This population increase also brings with it an increased risk for people with
disabilities of becoming potential victims of traffic accidents. Currently, worldwide, approximately 1.24 million people die
each year in traffic accidents, this due to the notorious deficit in the safety system. That is why the incorporation of
universal design into the approach to road infrastructure is a factor that plays a fundamental role in making public spaces
safer and allowing pedestrians to move freely, so that the needs of users are met. in these public spaces [1].
Currently around 15% of the world's population, that is one billion people, live with some type of disability [2]. This
sector of the population is more likely to have problems at different levels, be they social, economic, cultural, among
others [3]. On the other hand, one of the main problems that people with disabilities face on a daily basis is living in an
environment that does not suit their needs; This can be reflected in the different problems that people with disabilities have
when moving from one place to another, especially people with physical disabilities.
Lima - Peru is no stranger to this problem, since it was recorded that 6 out of 10 people have problems moving around
and going to different environments in public spaces. 29.3% of people with disabilities have access problems to hospital
care centers, 23% to bus stops, 18.9% to rehabilitation centers and 18% to banking centers. Despite the aforementioned
figures, accessibility within the urban design of the city of Lima is mainly focused on the prioritization of automobile
circulation, leaving aside the pedestrian. Thus, statistics indicate that 72.3% of people with motor disabilities consider that
the roads through which they travel are in poor condition or have barriers that hinder free transit on the itinerary [4]. For
example, the District of Jesús María - Lima, has elements such as sidewalks, bus stops, pedestrian crossings among others,
which are designed in most cases in a non-accessible way [5]. Which causes the pedestrian to choose to take the alternative
of traveling on the road, exposing himself to the latent risk of having an accident.
All the aforementioned problem is due to the presence of barriers in the streets of Lima due to their poor design, the
lack of information in public spaces and the lack of inclusion of accessibility standards within them that limit mobility of
people with physical disabilities who travel daily through these urban environments. This is because, in Peru, there are no
standards that include universal design and accessibility. Although it is true, Peru does have the A.120 standard that

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contains technical specifications for urban design and building works, however, they are not sufficient for the mobility of
people with motor disabilities, since it is very general and It causes the presence of barriers and the bad design of public
spaces. Mexico, Spain, Chile and Ecuador, for example, have their own accessibility manuals, the “Universal Accessibility
Manual” being one of them, which are incorporated into their designs. The use of these manuals efficiently helped people
with motor disabilities, a very clear example was in Cuenca - Ecuador where an improvement was made in the horizontal
signaling of urban spaces so that the pedestrian can move correctly with the change appropriate width and slope of the
ramp [6].
For this reason, this research article incorporates the use of Universal Design and Accessibility within urban designs
through an orientation system called "Wayfinding". This research will be carried out at an intersection in the Jesús María
district, Lima, Peru and will allow the user to locate and move comfortably and safely within urban spaces, using the
information provided by the same environment [7].

2. Methodology
For the study, the DCU (User-Centered Design) design methodology is used, which consists of focusing the design on
the exclusive needs of people with motor disabilities. It is committed to this methodology since the functionality it
provides is high, since it adjusts to the needs that users are looking for [8]. In order to obtain an accessible design and solve
the main problems that users suffered with a conventional design, a flowchart of activities was elaborated for the correct
application of the methodology and later to successfully solve the aforementioned problem. This application, as mentioned
above, was developed at the intersection of Av. Gral. Salaverry and Av. Eduardo Rebagliati in Jesús María, Lima.

IDENTIFICATION OF
CHARACTERIZATION ACCESIBLE DESIGN VERIFICATION OF THE
ACCESSIBILITY PROBLEMAS FOR
START OF THE PROPOSAL FOR THE ELIMINATION FOR THE END
PEOPLE WITH PHYSICAL
INTERSECION IDENTIFIED BARRIERS DETECTED BARRIER
DISABILITY

IDENTIFY EVALUATE THE

CONCURRENT IDENTIFY THE IDENTIFY TO WHAT
FREQUENT ELEMENT
ZONES ACCORDING TO THE EXTENT IS
PROBLEMS THAT IMPROVING THE
USERS SUFFER 12 QUALITY
MOBILITY OF PEOPLE
WITH DISABILITIES
GET THE
CURRENT INCLUDE USERS
GEOMETRY OF DURING THE PROPOSAL
THE EVALUATE THE
DESIGN AND
INTERSECTION ENVIRONMENT IMPLEMENTATION
ACORRDING TO THE
12 QUALITY
CRITERIA

PRIORITIZE
IDENTIFIED
PROBLEMS

START/END OF ACTIVITY REPRESENTS AN ACTIVITY STARTS/END OF ACTIVITY

Fig. 1: Flowchart for the accessible design proposal for people with physical disabilities.

As shown in figure 1, the methodology begins with the current evaluation of the current situation of the selected
intersection, in order to detect the main characteristics such as geometry and what are the recurring problems that users
constantly present.

2.1. Assessment of the current situation

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 To implement the Wayfinding orientation system at the intersection between Av. Salaverry and Rebagliati, a prior
evaluation of the current situation of the study area had to be carried out in order to identify the main design deficits.
concerns and identify the barriers it has. To do this, data is collected in the field and the information is processed through
the pedestrian checklist in which the characteristics and elements of the intersection that comprise the study area are
evaluated. With the pedestrian checklist, we proceed to identify the possible barriers that require intervention. Next, the
checklist made for the study area will be displayed.

Table 1: Pedestrian checklist for the studied intersection.

KIND APPEARANCE CONDITION YES NO OBS.

The turning radii are correctly designed so that
  x  
people in a wheelchair can move around correctly.
The refuge islands guarantee adequate safety for
  x  
pedestrians.
The condition of the pedestrian crossings is adequate
x    
and they are wide enough.
Geometric design The pedestrian crossings are correctly distributed
  x
along the pedestrian routes.  
Only in some
Vehicles obstruct the crossing of pedestrians.   x
sections
The intersections of the study area present obstacles
x    
that hinder the mobility of people.
Intersection There are pedestrian ramps   x  
Quality, condition
The condition of the pavement is adequate.   x  
and location
Continuity and Pedestrians are properly directed to crosswalks and
  x  
connectivity access routes
Turning vehicles put pedestrians at risk. x    
Traffic
characteristics Traffic operations create a concern for pedestrian
x    
safety.
The intersection is signalized. x    
Traffic lights There are pedestrian signals at the intersection.   x  
The pedestrian green time is sufficient for your
x    
crossing.

In table 1, it is also observed that most of the elements evaluated do not meet the minimum conditions. Therefore, the
elements that do not meet the conditions are extracted and are considered as barriers (architectural, communication and
urban).
After that, a Pareto diagram is made to find out which barriers represent a problem for people with physical
disabilities. Below is a Pareto chart to identify the main barriers on which the proposed design should focus. This diagram
was obtained from the summary of the survey carried out with users with physical disabilities.

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 MAIN BARRIERS PERCEIVED BY USERS
6600tán5a5660 100.00

6600tán4a5660
6600tán4a5660
80.00
6600tán3a5660
6600tán3a5660
6600tán3a5660

% ACCUMULATED
60.00
6600tán2a5660

6600tán1a5660
6600tán1a5660 40.00
6600tán1a5660

6600tán29a5660
6600tán29a5660
6600tán29a566020.00
6600tán29a5660

6600tán28a5660 0.00
25.00 45.00 65.00 75.00 85.00 90.00 95.00 100.00

N ° PEOPLE % ACCUMULATED PEOPLE

Fig. 2: Pareto diagram on the main barriers according to their degree of incidence.
Based on the Pareto diagram, the accessible design proposal focused on finding a suitable design for the width and
slope of the ramps, warning users of unevenness in advance and that all have ramps, carrying out constant maintenance of
tracks and sidewalks and finally strategically look for the information points of the traffic light so that these are perceived
by all users. Next, the proposed solution for the 4 barriers mentioned will be explained in detail.

2.2. Propuesta del diseño accesible

Como se mencionó, la propuesta se enfocará en solucionar, en primer lugar, el ancho y pendiente de las rampas. Para
ello, se propone un diseño que está basado en la adaptación de normas y manuales internacionales, ya que, en el Perú, no se
cuentan con normas de accesibilidad para vías urbanas. La anchura mínima de la rampa desde el punto de cruce hasta el
nivel de la calzada será de 1.50 m, para que las personas que hagan uso de coches, andadores o sillas de ruedas puedan
movilizarse adecuadamente, según se indica en el manual norteamericano ADA Standards [9]. Como consideración previa
al cambio de algunos elementos, se toma en cuenta que, respecto a la pendiente transversal de la rampa, se entiende que
esta no debe superar un 2 %, independientemente del diseño del cruce donde estará presente la rampa que se colocará. En
el caso que esta rampa cuente con 3 pendientes, las “alas” que se considerarán serán menores al 10 %, ya que estas son las
más aptas para una circulación eficiente y sin problemas. Asimismo, las rampas contarán de tres planos inclinados para su
diseño y ejecución, y se respetará el porcentaje máximo de pendiente permitido en función de la longitud del tramo. En
este caso, se usará una pendiente de 8 %, que es recomendada para este tipo de intersecciones, se eligió ese porcentaje, ya
que cumplía con las medidas mínimas para poder garantizar que el usuario transite y realice los movimientos de la manera
adecuada sin sufrir algún tipo de accidente.
En segundo lugar, para advertir de los cambios de pendiente y desniveles a los usuarios, se utiliza uno de los recursos
del sistema Wayfinding más utilizados en sistemas de movilidad para personas con discapacidad visual; sin embargo, este
sistema también se adecua para mejorar la información de las personas con discapacidad física. Puesto que, este recurso
conocido como pavimento podo táctil, está constituido por piezas con un acabado superficial continuo de botones que
cumplirán la función de advertir al usuario de los cambios de pendiente, desniveles, cambios de dirección y fin del
recorrido. Además, como requisito indispensable debe tener contraste con respecto al pavimento circundante por lo que
deberá ser de un color que garantice esta distinción visual. Por ejemplo, en la zona de estudio se identifican rampas sin

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prevención de cambios de pendiente y sin distinción de desniveles entre el sardinel y el pavimento tal como se señala en la
figura 4. Por tal motivo, para la propuesta de diseño, se considera el uso del recurso podo táctil para los pisos. De esta
manera el usuario en situación de discapacidad física puede percibir pertinentemente la información enviada. Tal como se
observa en la figura 5, los pisos podo táctiles son ubicados estratégicamente antes de las rampas y al borde de la acera
limitada con el inicio del cruce peatonal.

Fig. 3: Proposal for the layout of ramps, slopes and tactile pruning floors for one of the corners in the
study area.

En tercer lugar, el trabajo de mantenimiento en las pistas y veredas debe ser constante y no esperar a que se muestren
forados para ponerse a trabajar; sin embargo, este tema solo cobra importancia durante tiempos de campaña política. Este
problema se debe a que el costo de estos mantenimientos está previsto dentro del presupuesto anual cada 5 años y en los
peores casos cada 10 años dependiendo de las alternativas de los gastos municipales. Por otro lado, el problema se agrava
ya que, esta intersección es frontera entre dos distritos y muchos municipios no tienen claro la responsabilidad distrital que
les corresponde, así pues, no buscan mejorar las avenidas que separan las jurisdicciones. Para mejorar el plan de gestión
municipal, se propuso implementar algunos elementos claves para el mantenimiento vial. En primer lugar, se mejoró la
capacidad de las municipalidades para gestionar el mantenimiento con contratos de diversas modalidades. En segundo
lugar, se propuso implementar un marco legal estable, con mecanismos ágiles y transparentes para la adjudicación y
resolución de conflictos. Por último, logró un marco financiero y sostenible adecuado para el distrito [10].
Finalmente, Los semáforos son aparatos urbanos que se encuentran en las vías de transito concurridas, los cuales
tienen el objetivo puntual de regular los pasos de los peatones y vehículos. Por este motivo, es de suma importancia que,
también, se priorice los semáforos accesibles para personas con discapacidad, ya que, como se mencionó en el diagrama de
Pareto, la mala ubicación de los semáforos puede ocasionar el cierre del paso para las personas discapacitadas por la
reducción del ancho de la vereda o también por la falta de visibilidad del mismo semáforo. Para afrontar este problema, en
primer lugar, es necesario que los semáforos estén ubicados lo más cercanos posibles a la línea de detención de los
vehículos y de esta manera procurar su visibilidad tanto desde la vereda como de la calzada. En segundo lugar, los
semáforos deben contar con pulsadores para activarse, y deben tener ciertas características para que las personas
discapacitadas puedan ubicarlas y utilizarlas con facilidad. Para ello, el pulsador tiene que estar situado a una distancia no
mayor a 1.50 m del límite externo del paso de peatones. Así mismo estará situado a una altura que oscile en 0.90 a 1.20 m,
deberá emitir un sonido o mensaje indicando la confirmación por su uso, también tendrá un diámetro mínimo de 4 cm y
deberá contar con un ícono e información textual para su respectivo reconocimiento. Por último, la fase de ámbar de los
semáforos tendrá una duración que mínimo permita a una persona situada en el centro de la calzada, desplazarse al otro

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extremo de la vía. Además, el semáforo estará compuesto por una pantalla que indicará los segundos restantes para el
cambio de ciclo.

2.3. Tables and Figures

Tables and figures should be placed close to their first citation in the text. All figures and tables should be numbered.
Table headings should be centred above the tables. Figure captions should be centred below the figures. Refer to the figure
below for a sample.

3. Submitting the Paper

The full paper has to be submitted electronically via the website of the conference (http://rtese.com/OpenConf/) by the
deadline (see website for details).
Paper number (in the format “XXX”) is assigned to each abstract after it was accepted and authors are kindly asked to
place the paper number to the correct positions in the header and footer before submitting the final version.
4. Conclusion
Conclusions should state concisely the most important propositions of the paper as well as the author’s views of the
practical implications of the results.

Acknowledgements
A short acknowledgement section can be written between the conclusion and the references. Sponsorship and financial
support acknowledgments should be included here. Acknowledging the contributions of other colleagues who are not
included in the authorship of this paper is also added in this section. If no acknowledgement is necessary, this section
should not appear in the paper.

References
The IEEE citation format is used. Books and book chapters should be referenced as [1] and [2] respectively. Patents
are referenced based on [3] and a thesis can be referenced as [4]. Finally, conference presentations/papers and journal
papers need to be reference based on [5] and [6] respectively.
With the increasing availability of useful information that can be found on the internet, website references must also
be reported based on [7]. Meanwhile, due to the dynamic nature of web pages and the fact that in most cases the
information is not peer-reviewed, the use of published resources are very much preferred and advised over online
references.

The reference section at the end of the paper should be edited based on the following:

[1] B. Klaus and P. Horn, Robot Vision. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1986.
[2] L. Stein, “Random patterns,” in Computers and You, J. S. Brake, Ed. New York: Wiley, 1994, pp. 55-70.
[3] J. P. Wilkinson, “Nonlinear resonant circuit devices,” U.S. Patent 3 624 125, July 16, 1990.
[4] J. O. Williams, “Narrow-band analyzer,” Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. Elect. Eng., Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA.
[5] U. V. Koc and K. R. Liu, “Discrete-cosine/sine-transform based motion estimation,” in Proceedings of the IEEE
International Conference on Image Processing, Austin, TX, 1994, vol. 3, pp. 771-775.
[6] R. E. Kalman, “New results in linear filtering and prediction theory,” J. Basic Eng., vol. 83, no. 4, pp. 95-108, 1961.
[7] K. Author. (2015, May 10). Facility Greenhouse Gas Reporting (2nd ed.) [Online]. Available:
http://www.ec.gc.ca/ges-ghg/default.asp?lang=En&n=040E378D-1

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DOES THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH YOU
MOVE ALLOW YOU TO MOBILIZE PROPERLY?

NO
20%N°
BARRIERS PERCENTAGE
PEOPLE
Very steep ramps 8 22%
Little perception of
7 19%
traffic light information
Narrow sidewalks 6 16%
Bad condition of the YES
4 11%
tracks and sidewalks 80%

Very narrow spacers 5 14%

Bad bus stop designFig. 4: Diagrama

7 circular de19%
la distribución porcentual para los usuarios que
consideran o no que su entorno no les permite movilizarse de manera adecuada.
TOTAL 37 100%

CRITERIA
Simple
Perceptible Toleranc Low Size and
Equitable Flexibility and Tota
informatio e for physical space for
use in use intuitive l
n error effort access and
use
use
COMMUNICATI BARRIERARCHITE
CTURAL

RAMPS 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7
CENTRAL
SEPARATORS 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7

7
S

SLOPES 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
7
ON BARRIER

ZEBRA STEPS 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
LOCATION OF
LIGHTS 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 6
EXCLUSIVE LANES 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 4

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 URBAN

WHEREABOUTS 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 4
BARRIER

ROAD 7
S

MAINTENANCE 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

DOES IT IMPROVE YOUR MOBILITY?

5%

95%

YES NO

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