Design for All

BY DEBORAH PADDISON

Accessibility Gets on Track

Automatic hydraulic leveling keeps cars flush with the platform for no-step boarding. Each car's simple, clean interior has wide aisles for easy access and accommodates four wheelchair passengers and four bicycles. A textured warning strip marks the edge of the platform. Photography courtesy METRO.

Despite being the fifth largest city in the country, sprawling Phoenix, Arizona has enjoyed the dubious distinction of being one of the few large U.S. cities without any form of rail-based public transportation. But that came to an end on December 27, when METRO Light Rail inaugurated operations on its first phase, a 20-mile alignment that runs from west-central Phoenix south through downtown, then east to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Arizona State University in Tempe and into Mesa. With a capacity of 12,000 passengers daily, the electrically powered light rail system is the equivalent of a six-lane freeway.

To learn how the design process focused on meeting the needs of passengers with disabilities, I spoke with Bob Reiss of engineering consulting firm Gannett Fleming, who served as coordinator for architecture and civil design for the project.

Sources+Design: When you're designing a large public works project such as this, when and how does accessibility enter the conversation?

Bob Reiss: From day one. Shortly after I joined the project in 2000, we formed a Universal Design Accessibility Committee that consulted regularly with METRO Light Rail engineers, architects and staff throughout the design and construction process to ensure that the system serves all of its customers' needs, and all parts of the system meet or exceed ADA guidelines.

S+D: Who were the members of that committee?

BR: We were blessed with a large "melting pot" of citizenry formed with the assistance of the [Phoenix] Mayor's Commission on Disability Issues. It included citizens with disabilities, disability-services advocates, designers and members of other professions. They were part of the design process from the very beginning. The committee had total input as far as suggestions and ideas, and reviewed the design along the way. Many of the persons with disabilities on the committee are well-traveled individuals, and they would bring up features they liked based on their experience with transportation systems in cities around the world.

We were also quite fortunate to set up liaisons and build relationships with other transit properties early on in the design process. When a specific issue would come up, we were able to tap other agencies, such as the light rail system in Portland, Oregon or Dallas, Texas, to see how they had addressed it. This was extremely helpful to the design process here.

S+D: The smallest action or interface can have huge consequences for someone with a disability. How did you drill down to the individual components in such a complex project?

BR: Each component — the station, the fare vending machine, the vehicle itself — was isolated, and a core group was formed to address it. For instance, on the entire interior and exterior design of the vehicle, there was tremendous input from the Accessibility Committee. They also worked with the winning manufacturer to make the fare vending machine as user-friendly as possible. We just didn't pull things off the shelf. Everything was designed from the ground up.

Phoenix's new light rail stations feature visual and auditory cues, tensile shade canopies, and low-reflectivity, heat-mitigating surfaces.

S+D: Can you give some examples?

BR: We worked with the vehicle vendor, Kinkisharyo of Japan, to develop a low-floor vehicle for no-step boarding. A special hydraulic system on the vehicle will always level the floor of the car with the floor of the station platform.

Another issue was berthing, or how the vehicles pull into the station. We made it so the vehicles will berth in the same spot at every station, all the time, so those in wheelchairs or with vision impairments will come to know just where the door is going to open and won't have to search for the entry each time.

Each vehicle has space for four wheelchair passengers. We do not have tie-downs because the ride is very smooth. Also, we found that people using wheelchairs like to choose which way they want to face while riding: into the vehicle, out the window or toward the person they're traveling with. They have complete choice of position.

The fare vending machines have a lower reach height, and the touch screens are designed for ease of use and to avoid glare. A built-in audio "push to talk" feature requires only light pressure to activate.

S+D: What about the stations themselves?

BR: There are 28 stations on the starter line. Each is a kit of parts, though they all have individual identities. But all features related to accessibility are absolutely consistent between stations; there are certain similarities that can always be relied upon.

Metal surfaces are perforated, and cool concrete pavers supply an easily navigable surface. To provide shade, the stations have horizontal louvers made from a special high-tech, translucent tensile fabric with a high UV-blocking ratio.

S+D: How did you partner with Arizona State University?

BR: We commissioned ASU to set up a laboratory specifically for materials testing. For example, the chemistry department helped us come up with a special paint formula that is not only durable, but also cool to the touch.

We worked with ASU on a lighting study to show us how to place the louvers at each station for maximum shading. At night, the station lighting gradually acclimates passengers to the streetlights as they leave the platform, and sensors adjust station lighting to maintain readability of signs at all times of the day and night.

The industrial designers also commissioned ASU students to create mockups of the vehicle's interior design. Rather than limiting ourselves to what we could view on paper, wherever possible we constructed a 3D simulation of the space we were planning. We were able to use that as a communication tool with the Accessibility Committee, and that worked very well.

S+D: How are you getting people with disabilities "on board" with the light rail system?

BR: A community education program is in place, and we held two training sessions in November specifically for the ADA community. We opened up a light rail vehicle and a station for persons with disabilities to come out and interact with the train and platform, familiarizing themselves with the accessibility features and how everything works.

Everyone involved is very proud that we accomplished our mission of meeting and exceeding ADA guidelines. In fact, the process worked so well that we plan to use it as a model for other projects in the future.