Those Pesky Escalators…

This is the escalator at Woodley
Park in the DC Metro. Steep, but
flat too me and dark!

Lots of people with low vision suffer a lack of depth perception, especially in dimly lit places or at night.  This makes escalators particularly difficult for us. Just looking at them can be a problem. Lots and lots of parallel lines and all those comb-like protrusions on the treads.  When I look up or down, the steps look flat and they run together. And, just like I see squiggles on the Amsler grid, I see squiggles on the steps of escalators.  On a very, very long escalator, this can make you dizzy. And a good many of the escalators in the Washington Metro are very long. In fact, my metro stop in DC, Woodley Park Station, boasts 342 stairs and is the third longest escalator in the DC system (Wheaton is the longest in Metro and is the second longest escalator in the world).

Pretty scary! Notice the
distortion from the camera.
This is similar to what I see
as a result of the blind spots
or scotomas.

It seems like someone along the way had an idea to make escalators safer. You’ll notice that many escalators have painted yellow stripes on the steps.  When I’m on an escalator and there is a yellow stripe on the edge of the step, I know right where to put my foot.  However, it’s not all so simple. Hard to believe, but the yellow stripes are not consistently placed on the front of the steps. Sometimes they’re on the back of the step, sometimes on the edge, and sometimes not at all! It’s insanity and confusing! Take a look!

Here are two escalators, side-by-side. One has stripes on the edge
of the step and the back; the other has stripes only on the back.

My workaround, of course, is to use the elevator, if I can find one.  If I do use the escalator, I use the cane, partly to help me find the steps, but mostly to say to others “Hey, be aware. I have a visual impairment.  I may need help and I’m counting on you!“

These three escalators are side-by-side at the Seattle, WA airport. The first one has stripes consistently
in all the right places. The second one has no stripes on the edge of the step
and the third one has stripes on some steps and no stripes on others.