Month: October 2016

Join the Portsmouth Puzzle Game! – Instructions

by

Did you know that you can find almost all the places of interest (restaurants, shops, services) on the online map of Portsmouth? Today, it is pretty easy to select a pub on an online map to socialize with your friends and navigate there with your phone.

Well, it may be easy for YOU but not for your fellow citizens in wheelchairs!

We know that no city will ever be fully accessible, but we also know that up to date information brings freedom and confidence. Our map already has a fair amount of useful data in Portsmouth and in other cities of the the UK, but there are still a good number of places on the map which lack accessibility information – they show in grey circles. But…

Now, it is only a few clicks to change it all! 

Join our Community Puzzle Challenge and let’s make Portsmouth more livable for all, together! We will be solving the jigsaw photo-puzzle by real life contribution to the accessibility of Portsmouth. Sounds good, right? Click the picture to Play for change!

The process is super fast, and it works like this:

  1. Click here and go to the area on the map that is near you or you know very well. 
  2. Select a Point of Interest (grey circle) you wish to assess in terms of accessibility.
  3. Click on the relevant wheelchair icon to tell if the entrance is wheelchair accessible.
  4. Click on the relevant toilet icon to tell if the toilet is wheelchair accessible.
  5. Add description or comment if neccessary
  6. Hit save if you are sure about it.
  7. Select another POI and repeat!

If you find it difficult to decide the colour of a given entrance, take a look at our assessment cheat sheet ! 😀

Click here to invite your friends in the game and get things rolling! 🙂

Want to know more about Route4U? Read our FAQ!

Route4U Assessment Guide

by

If you want to help the Route4U community make the world’s first sidewalk navigation solution truly useful, download the iOS app first here or the Android one here.

These are the ways you can contribute:

  • assess places’ accessibility
  • automatically map sidewalks and crossings
  • notify others about obstacles

Pasted image at 2016_09_23 04_09 PM

Sometimes categorizing places’ entrances or toilets is not easy, here’s some help:

Places

  • By tapping any Place on the map, you see their accessibility info. If there is no information yet (it’s gray) or if you find it incorrect you can change it’s properties by tapping the pencil icon and set it according to your findings. You can also add text on relevant details at the bottom.

IMG_2030

  • Green entrances 

    are level or the doorstep is max. 2 centimeters tall, the door is at least 120 cm wide, and there is no ramp in front of/behind the door. If assess a Place as green, be sure that there is enough space inside for wheelchair users, and that there are no stairs inside that limit movement.

 

  • Yellow entrances

    are inconvenient for most wheelchair users, but are still usable alone for some, and with assistance for the majority. If you find hard to decide the type of an entrance. Please leave a description, so others will know the exact characteristics. Places with mobile ramps and/or working wheelchair bells are and should be yellow in Route4U.

 

  • Red entrances

    are with a high doorsteps or are too narrow for most wheelchair users (<80cm) or have steep ramps leading up to them. Narrow entraces always fall into this category.

  • Green toilets 

    are big enough for an electric wheelchair user to turn around, are equipped with handrails and an alarm, door opens outside, mirror and sink are convenient to use in a wheelchair.

  • Yellow toilets

    are missing at least one of the features of Green toilets, but are still usable for some. Please always include accessibility details at the bottom!

  • Red toilets

    are either: too small, not enough space next to the toilet without handrails, the door opens inside or any combination of these.

Even if the entrance is accessible (Green) with wheelchair, there might be problems inside. These are:

  • Not enough space to move/turn inside with a wheelchair conveniently. If this is the case, please assess the Point of Interest as Yellow

  • If there are ramps inside that are possible to use alone, please assess the Point of Interest as Yellow

  • If there are steep ramps or stairs in the way, please assess the Point of Interest as Red

  • If the tables inside are too high, or there are tables that are inconvenient to use with a wheelchair, please assess the Place as Red

Join the community!

If all this is not enough, You can also join the fun by following our Facebook page . We regularly share information about the map and the apps (both iOS and Android) organize events and share interesting stuff about the world of accessibility.

We also created a Route4U – UK Mapping closed Facebook group where our UK-based users can share feedback about map data and the app in general. We also hope to build an active community of accessiblity enthusiasts

:)

Want to know more about Route4U? Read our FAQ!

Frequently Asked Questions about the Route4U app

by

tella

What is Route4U?

  • Route4U is a community-contributed tool that helps You to navigate on the sidewalks of a city. The purpose of the application is to give you the highest possible level of freedom in mobility, whether you are in your hometown or out exploring a new city. In exchange You can also help the community in many ways. We have data available in every single city of the world.

How does it work?

  • First, download the iOS app here or the Android one here. Once you open the app, you’ll see a map with color coded information on it. These are
    • Places – Points of Interests (circles),
    • sidewalks and crossings (gray or coloured lines),
    • and maybe obstacles (exclamation marks).
  • With Route4U, you can search for accessible places, and if there’s information available already, you can have personalized sidewalk routes planned between two locations.
  • You can also contribute:
    • assess places’ accessibility,
    • automatically map sidewalks and
    • notify others about obstacles!
  • We also have a web based map, with limited functionality here.

What are the colours on the map?

route4u-portsmouth-blog-4

  • We use colours on Places (or Points of Interest – POI), sidewalks and crossings.
  • Places can be gray, green, yellow and red.
    • Green means the entrance is accessible with all kinds of wheelchairs.
    • Yellow means entering is inconvenient but possible, either alone or with help.
    • Red means “impossible” because of the characteristics of the entrance.  
    • Gray POI means insufficient data. But you can change that! 🙂

IMG_2029

  • Sidewalks can be green, yellow, orange, red and gray. The colours show the smoothness and/or the steepness of the sidewalk surface.
    • Orange is very inconvenient and
    • red is impossible to roll on for most wheelchair users.
    • Gray sidewalks are not yet mapped, but again, you can change that!
  • Crossings can also be green, yellow, orange, red and gray. Colours of crossings indicate their kerb height.
    • You will definitely not have problems with green crossings, while
    • red ones have at least 10 cm high kerbs.
  • Route4U’s Navigation function shows you personalized routes. You can set your accessibility preferences in the Settings.

IMG_2031

Can I also change colour of Places or sidewalks?

  • Sure! By tapping any Place on the map, you see their accessibility info. If there is no information yet (it’s gray) or if you find it incorrect you can change it’s properties by tapping the pencil icon and set it according to your findings. You can also add text on relevant details at the bottom.

IMG_2030

  • Please read our Assessment Guide to see what kind of toilets and entrances fit into which category. This way we can avoid false data appearing on the map. Don’t worry though! Sometimes it’s not easy to decide the colours. If you have doubts, just add some comments in the “Accessibility Details” box. See the guide here.
  • Every user can “survey” sidewalks, kerbs and preferred routes while they move around in the city. Tapping the ruler (survey button) – even if the area is already mapped – automatically helps the community by keeping the map data fresh and accurate. Same applies when using the app in navigation mode. During survey, Route4U collects sensor data of your phone, and turns it into accessibility maps. No data about our users or their routes is given to a third party. This automatic survey function works best when you roll on the sidewalks and crossings. Surveying while driving or sitting in the car collects false data – however our built-in artificial intelligence will filter these out. 🙂

IMG_2032

 

What if the sidewalk would be fine, but is temporarily obstructed?

  • You can notify other users about that! Long tap on the map, choose “Obstacle“. You can even add a photo for others to see. These obstacles also count in the route planning process, if the sidewalk is blocked, Route4U will show you an alternative route.

IMG_1988

Why does Route4U say “No route!” when I try to use the navigation function!

  • We can only show you accessible routes on the mapped areas. Route4U is a community based app, which means you and your friends can automatically map your city from zero, only by opening the app and tapping on the ruler icon. This way we receive sidewalk data that is turned into coloured sidewalk maps. If you are an active person from a not-yet mapped city, feel free to contact us at tibor@route4u.org and our cartographer will help you get things rolling.

Does Route4U follow me when I am not using the app?

  • No.

Does Route4U use mobile data?

  • Yes, and GPS too.

Who can I contact if I have questions or something’s not working?

  • info@route4u.org or tibor@route4u.org

Oh, and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook! 🙂