Shared Space Delineators: Are They Detectable?

One suggestion to make streets more pedestrian friendly is to remove the kerb and have a level surface for pedestrians and vehicles. Removing kerbs results in an area without clear vertical delineation between space reserved for pedestrians and space predominantly used by vehicles. Without clear delineation between a relatively “safe space” (Nyvig et al. 2006) and moving vehicles, some pedestrians have described feeling more anxious in these level areas than they do in areas where the delineation is clear. So much so that some people, especially those who are blind or partially sighted, have reported avoiding such spaces altogether (Carol Thomas et al. 2006). Conversely, a benefit of a level surface is improved access through the area for people in wheelchairs, those that use a wheeled-walker, push prams or have trolley type luggage. The question that arises from this is: can an alternative surface be used to delineate between an area where vehicles are not expected and one where they are free to travel through: an alternative surface that is both clearly detectable, yet not a barrier to pedestrians?