Specific User Services :(48) Pedestrian route guidance
Although guiding blocks are usually used to help the visually-impaired to find their way, they cannot provide information equivalent to what the non-visually impaired can obtain by landmarks and signs.
The Guidance System for the Visually Impaired, which uses not only guiding blocks but also a voice guide with detailed information such as their current position, direction and route to the destination, was therefore introduced on three sections in Sendai City frequently used by the visually-impaired: sidewalk of the National Highway No. 48 in front of the Miyagi Prefectural Government Office, sidewalk in front of the Sendai City Government Office, and the Aoba-dori underground passage below the National Highway No. 4 (1997 to 1999).
Ninety portable devices necessary for using this system are lent to such organizations as the Sendai Visually-Impaired Welfare Society. Usage of the devices from June to November 1999 averaged 2 to 9 times per day.
(Sendai Branch Work Office of the Tohoku Regional Construction Bureau, Ministry of Construction)
