The City of Regina has launched a new app to make crossing the street easier, safer and more accessible for people living with disabilities.
The app is called PedApp, and it works by giving users verbal directions and vibrations at intersections indicating when it’s safe to cross the street. It is meant to keep people safe in heavy-traffic areas in the city’s downtown.
The app was developed in partnership with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.
Ashley Nemeth, accessibility adviser for the City of Regina, said that typically, people walk up to an intersection and push the walk button. However, for herself and many others living with disabilities, even just to walk over to push the button causes them to go off course.
“I need to have my dog or use my cane to try and find that button, which forces me to veer off of that straight path,” she said.
“Then once I push the button, I need to now turn around and find the curb again and hopefully line up in the right direction to cross the street straight, which is always a challenge.”
She said she expects the app will help many others who may also be struggling to cross the road in high-traffic areas.
Currently, the city is working on 60 long-term projects to help improve accessibility and safety.
Mohammed Ali, advocacy lead for CNIB, had a chance to try the app before it launched. He said he was wary about the app’s features.
“I was a little bit skeptical in terms of how usable it would be,” he said. “It would be effectively diverting attention from travelling independently, using a cane and to pull out your phone, then figuring out where to press to enable the crossing signal.”
But he said he was pleasantly surprised by the app and how it created a safer and more accessible experience for him.
“I can imagine this being very useful in the winter time and navigating. So I’m very, very excited for this app and for this to be made available to folks who need it,” said Ali.
The city plans to have the app work at all its downtown intersections by the end of the year, but launched it only at nine intersections on Victoria Avenue, between Albert Street and Broad Street, said Vikas Ravada, the city’s manager of traffic engineering.
He said app users will be notified as they walk towards an intersection.
“It notifies them as they’re entering and provides them an option to remotely activate the cross push button through the mobile app,” he said. “It will notify them when it is ready and safe for them to cross, and also give them an out-loud countdown of the timer.”
The app has a verbal feature and a vibration feature to aid both visually and hearing impaired individuals. Ravada said it has the capability to function in Saskatchewan’s weather conditions, to as cold as –35 C.
He said there are plans to expand the app citywide, during the coming years.
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