Curb ramps, which are necessary to enable some persons with physical disabilities to negotiate street crossings, appear to put persons with visual impairments at risk. In 39 percent of 557 approaches to unfamiliar streets via curb ramps, persons who travel using a long cane were unable to detect the streets and to stop before entering them. Street detection was highly associated with the angle of the slope, the abruptness of the change from the approaching sidewalk to the curb ramp, and the location of curb ramps.
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