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Re: Evacuation Maps and Web Accessibility

for

From: michael.brockington
Date: Jan 12, 2005 10:44AM

I have sometimes seen such plans written in plain text, (probably because the
user thought that it was easier than doing a diagram) and they generally
state things like 'move to the central core of the building' or 'move to the
nearest fire escape, these are situated at the end of each wing'.
If these instructions are for users who regularly sit in the same place I
think they can be expected to understand these terms if written carefully.

The example that Jon provided ( http://www.fs.uiuc.edu/ada/0267Plan1.html )
seems like an excellent example of what not to do. That page describes the
icons used very nicely, but gives no indication of where those icons appear
on the image, let alone in relation to the building features. For these
descriptions to be any use as they stand, you need to be able to see the
image, and not be colourblind.
What I think is being asked for is things like: 'The emergency exit from Room
321 is in the opposite corner to the entrance door' and 'Accessible toilets
are at the left hand end of the main corridor, when entering from the main
stairwell'. These statements are more appropriate for occassional users, but
are just off the top of my head, rather than from any official manual.

Mike


> -----Original Message-----
> From: norman.b.robinson [mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ]
> Sent: 12 January 2005 16:04
> To: WebAIM Discussion List
> Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Evacuation Maps and Web Accessibility
>
>
>
> Thank you all for your responses. I can see I need to further
> clarify my request. I'm not looking for the techniques; I'm
> familiar with all the legal requirements of Section 508 and
> the best practices of accessibility in using web content.
>
> What I am asking for is examples of actual text equivalent directions.
>
> The issue of at a glance graphical evacuation maps that are
> spacial converted to text which is linear. My concern is that
> although the text equivalent is legally accessible (the
> screen reader can read the
> directions) the material is not very usable. I'm looking for
> ideas as to how others have linearized visual data in a way
> that makes sense to the end-user. As an example, a fire
> evacuation plan in a building floor that has 10 elevators, 40
> doors, 8 stairwells - and a user that may be in a cubical
> that doesn't have specific instructions downloading the map
> and needing to figure out "you are here" as well as "the exit
> is there" in terms that may work for someone that does not
> have vision.
>
> I've reviewed evacuation plans from every other major
> disability site and government web site looking for examples.
> I find many evacuation
> *plans* for people with disabilities but no clear *examples*.
> I hope this helps others with this same problem.
>
> Regards,
>
> Norman Robinson
>
> ----
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>
>


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