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> In one of our new faculty buildings we have angled pillars or girders > which pose quite a hazard for a visually impaired person who uses a cane - > the cane will alert them to the existence of the pillar, but naturally > they'll assume it's a vertical obstacle and risk striking their head on > the higher portion as it slopes across the passageway. (The pillars are > pale grey and do not contrast well with the background). We propose > "filling in" the bottom part to cope with this hazard - has anyone come > across this problem before, and are there any other ways of dealing with > it? The problem is well described and an obvious threat. But after working with visually handicapped and blind people for tewelve years I find myself judging the environment from their point of view. A very similar problem arises time and again when hedges or low trees are placed where people walk. Most side streets will offer examples of this as bushes lean out over front garden walls and fences. It is worth being vigilant about these also. They may seem less ugly to us than the problem above, but being slapped in the face by a wet branch is no joke and soon loses its funny side. Dave Laycock MBE Head of CCPD, Chair of NFAC Computer Centre for People with Disabilities University of Westminster 72 Great Portland Street London W1N 5AL tel. 0171-911-5161 fax. 0171-911-5162 WWW home page: http://www.wmin.ac.uk/ccpd/ %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%