Uyen Tran

Smart street-crossing system aiming to improve accessibility by adding extra crossing time based on users' needs.

In Los Angeles, approximately 12% to 13% of the population has some form of disability, which includes mobility challenges. The city faces significant challenges in creating accessible transportation and infrastructure for people with mobility impairments. Despite efforts to enhance urban design, many crosswalks fail to accommodate the diverse needs of people with limited mobility.

Pedestrian crossing times in Los Angeles are based on a walking speed of 3.5 ft per second (25 seconds to cross an 85 ft wide street), which excludes the needs of individuals with mobility challenges, who may move as slowly as 1.5 ft per second, taking almost 1 minute to cross streets with the same width. ‍ Through our interviews with two participants living with disability, we learned that these barriers for accessibility leave them even more vulnerable, unable to cross streets safely within the provided time. Their needs being disregarded leads to frustration and other mental health problems.

The WayPass - a smart crossing system for crosswalks, with equitable design accommodating the needs of people with limited mobility. WayPass lets people with mobility challenges have extended amount of crossing time based on their needs, by standing near the system sensor, tapping their phone or wearable on the screen attached to the traffic pole, or entering their unique PIN number.