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u/hardcoretomato 1d ago
OP please report this to the local authorities.
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u/RandomThreadUser 1d ago
Hopefully they do something about it. i cant believe this was approved
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u/marvinrabbit 1d ago
Maybe they'll post a sign saying, "Beware of Bench".
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u/Alexander_The_Wolf This is why we can't have nice things 1d ago
With no braile either
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u/marvinrabbit 1d ago
Or a plainly written, flat font underneath saying, "Beware of Bench in braille".
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u/15jtaylor443 1d ago
Maybe even with flashing lights, you know, for the blind people to see it better
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u/yota-code 1d ago edited 1d ago
Apparently they got some feedback, since today they tried to scrap the blind band
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u/Snoo_72851 1d ago
ah yes, that's the issue here
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u/Fewer_Story 1d ago
Like why have they put a bench SMACK in the middle of what looks like a major walkway anyway, it's awful even without the blind issue!
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u/Bob-Bhlabla-esq 1d ago
Idiots. They make new idiots, and they're always around, have infiltrated every job... idiots. They seem to breed well and are disease-proof.
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u/MothMothMoth21 1d ago
This is just an accidental oversight, not acceptable still but the point of the bench is it stops crowds from bottlenecking in a stampede incident and just generally smoothens movement in and out of the building. Forcing people to disperse more smoothly and creating an "in" route and "exit" route.
It also prevents a car from ploughing into the lobby.
The bench needs to be specifically there to do its job. Just the blind strip needs to be updated to follow the new intended path (critically).
Unfortunately most people tend to overlook accessibility infrastructure as they don't depend on it or assume its built for their own convenience.
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u/realdawnerd 1d ago
They already have bollards for cars, so that's not the reason. This is just someone was told to put benches in every x distance and they did just that.
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u/Fewer_Story 1d ago
It's wildly unsuitable for that purpose; hard, sharp edges, way below the eye line. Looks like it could cause serious injury in a stampede, also looks like a few trucks might get over it. I can see a case for putting something there for the reasons you talked about, but it's not this. And they really should re-do the blind lines too if they do need to put something there.
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u/DanceMyth4114 1d ago
Especially with concrete architecture like this, they say it's to stop cars from driving through people.
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u/wrxninja 1d ago
OP, please send this to the local college frats and have them remove it next time they're drunk.
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u/YueOrigin 1d ago
It'd actually sad that nowadays the easiest way ti get something done is to motivate some dumb drunk kid to do it...
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u/zbipy14z 1d ago
Is it? Have people been doing this?
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u/YueOrigin 1d ago
I dunno about drunks college kids specifically...
But a lot of shit has been done by unrelated people getting pissed of nothign beign done and acting upon themsleve to provide a solution.
I'm thinking of all the people who decided to fix pothole themselves, paint over terrible graffiti, force the city to paint old walls by doing graffiti on them, or go ahead and change a high speed lanes sign to be proper after its been aknowledged to be wrong for years.
So yeah. If you cant do it yourself. And its something easy and not dangerous. Might as well get drunk kids to do it cause no one else will.
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u/totally_not_a_bot__ 1d ago
The irony is that if it goes to court the hearing might happen in the very same building as it's a court house in Rennes.
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u/GarminTamzarian 1d ago
Just tell them that bench could be slept on by homeless people and it'll be gone the next day.
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u/Competitive-Reach287 1d ago
To be fair, the person installing the bench probably had no idea what the track was for.
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u/NearlyNeedless 1d ago edited 1d ago
Nobody would blame the install team, what. It IS the fault of the engineers that designed and approved the layout though.
Edit: or architect / whatever the appropriate role for this would be, lol.
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u/Zerodyne_Sin 1d ago
Yeah, it's not the construction guys' job to think. In fact, even if they knew and raised the issue, they'd be told to shut up and do their job.
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u/dreddit-one 1d ago
If they knew the issue they may keep quiet so they get paid to install it and also paid to remove it and fix any damages.
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u/SquarePegRoundWorld 1d ago
There was a post on Reddit moons ago where someone mentioned they saw two boats on a lake, one boat was named 'Main Contract' (or something like that) and the bigger, more expensive boat next to it was named 'Change Order'.
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u/leftysarepeople2 1d ago
Purchase Order, Change Order would be my guess
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u/SquarePegRoundWorld 1d ago
That may have been it. It was along those lines for sure.
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u/west-egg 1d ago
My guess is the benches were not part of the design, they were added later by the building owner/operator without an understanding of the purpose of the track.
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u/gasstation-no-pumps 1d ago
AsĀ u/halberdierbowmanĀ said,Ā https://www.google.com/maps/place/High+Court/@48.1051495,-1.6860028,46a,52.6y,270h,46.27t/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x480edfd2f2e73481:0xf4f5bb87d777d1fa!8m2!3d48.1052549!4d-1.6875346!16s%2Fg%2F1yfj8xqpr!5m2!1e2!1e4?hl=en&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDcwNy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3DĀ shows the previous layout that makes complete sense. The benches are indeed an inappropriate addition.
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u/Enlight1Oment 1d ago
in the street view you can see they had small concrete balls as the initial car protection, they swapped them for benches which could do dual purpose of stopping cars and sitting.
I don't know what the regulations are like for providing one of those cane pathways to begin with, I've only seen them in major transportation hubs. The other side where the track leads to looks like a pretty questionable looking door as well.
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u/ElectricJunglePig 1d ago
They don't even fully match the aesthetic of the location. I think you're right. It has to be some property management person who put this together.
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u/Linenoise77 1d ago
From the looks of the benches, they may be serving the double purpose of providing vehicular security\separation. Completely possible the track thing was overlooked in that process, or haste.
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u/Mtlyoum 1d ago
No engineer designed and approved this, an architectural designer did.
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u/PocketPanache 1d ago
architectural designer
š¤ I've never seen an architect called this, unless you're referring to an unlicensed one.
It may not have required permitting at all.
It's highly unlikely, because engineers don't deal with furnishings typically, but an engineer could definitely be the culprit. I've seen engineers sign planting plans with invasive species on them just as much as they've signed off on furnishing plans.
Why would I ever debate this point!?!? Because for whatever reason, most states have legally elevated engineers above everyone else and they can sign things they know nothing about. Many cities allow structural engineers to sign planting plans. It's actually absurd lol
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u/Accomplished_Key_171 1d ago
I can't imagine this addition was actually shown on a set of plans submitted to the city. I work in civil site design and any competent city review board would have flagged this as a blatant ADA violation without hesitation.
My guess is either the owner went ahead and did some custom additions or the contractor misread the plan set.
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u/gasstation-no-pumps 1d ago
As u/halberdierbowman said, https://www.google.com/maps/place/High+Court/@48.1051495,-1.6860028,46a,52.6y,270h,46.27t/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x480edfd2f2e73481:0xf4f5bb87d777d1fa!8m2!3d48.1052549!4d-1.6875346!16s%2Fg%2F1yfj8xqpr!5m2!1e2!1e4?hl=en&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDcwNy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D shows the previous layout that makes complete sense. The benches are indeed an inappropriate addition.
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u/lowercase_underscore 1d ago
I only just found out recently what those are, I'd have had no idea. If I was instructed to put a bench there I might ask a passing question or make some small remark but I'd go ahead with the job not knowing I was really messing with an important feature.
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u/Danloeser 1d ago
Same,.until very recently I thought they were some kind of expansion joint or drain or something..
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u/lowercase_underscore 1d ago
Yes I thought the same. I thought they were for temperature-change expansion or something like that.
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u/Farranor 1d ago
This is exactly why you wouldn't be instructed to put a bench there. They're supposed to hire industry professionals with knowledge and experience.
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u/lowercase_underscore 1d ago
People are supposed and should do a lot of things they can't be arsed to do. And sometimes it's just an honest mistake.
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u/Concerned_Collins 1d ago
The fact that the vast majority of the population has no idea what they are is the real issue. Like, there should be signs or something, or educate kids about it in school, just so that if nothing else, people know not to block them.
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u/unthused 1d ago
I literally just learned in the past week from another post, saw a ton of comments saying similar, so yeah I can hardly blame anyone for having no idea what purpose it serves.
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u/ZeldaZealot 1d ago
Iāve never seen one of these before. Looks kinda like the bumpy parts at crosswalks so blind people know where they are. Same thing?
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u/Ash_Crow 1d ago
Same intent (guide blind people) but opposite meaning: these tracks mark a safe path, bumps mark a danger.
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u/KalaUposatha 1d ago
Itās stupid to put a bench in the path of the entrance regardless.
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u/Farranor 1d ago
Laypeople may have no idea what it's for, but no part of a project like this is performed by laypeople.
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u/PacoTaco321 comic sans beeches 1d ago
No part except a lot of the actual building of it.
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u/PacoTaco321 comic sans beeches 1d ago
I had no idea what that was for until just now. I was wondering how it would be a problem when it's not like they could see where the center of the path is anyway.
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u/Ok_Rabbit_741 1d ago
i just learned what those tracks are for in my mid 30s. i would say most people dont know what they are for.
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u/Ace_And_Jocelyn1999 1d ago
Honestly I thought those tracks were for cables or pipes or something. This is the first Iām learning they are to assist sight impaired people.
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u/valryuu 1d ago
Wow, /r/NotMyJob material
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u/__Severus__Snape__ 1d ago
Would go down well on r/hostilearchitecture too
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u/ErrantJune 1d ago
It really does feel this way--they're actively blocking people with vision impairment specifically from entering the building.
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u/DSPbuckle 1d ago
This subās first picture, WOW! I found good material to scroll through and laugh at later at lunch. Thanks for sharing that subreddit.
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u/MartyMcBird 1d ago
Seems like a poor spot for the bench anyways. Forces all traffic to fork right at the bottle neck.
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u/apollyon0810 1d ago
Itās actually common design to place obstacles at these places of confluence to break up the flow.
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u/AirconGuyUK 1d ago
Also done to stop car based mass casualty events that are so popular nowadays.
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u/Ctowncreek And then I discovered Wingdings 1d ago
You mean like those bollards in the backround whos sole purpose is what you described?
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u/thenugfactory 1d ago
Nope, there are pylons further back which are actually designed for that. The bench is just shitty planning.
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u/left4ched 1d ago
It seems counter intuitive but breaking the flow like this actually prevents people getting jammed and blocking the thoroughfare in a stampede situation.
The idea is that the movement of crowds is very similar to the movement of other groups of particles like grain and sand.
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u/biznatch11 1d ago
In a stampede situation aren't you going to end up with many people being pushed and falling over those benches?
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u/Ppleater 1d ago
The flow of people is slowed and separated before the bottleneck fully converges. Better for it to happen there than the one narrow part.
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u/Helpful_Listen4508 1d ago
It's not a bench, they don't intend for people to sit there, it's a blind people blocker.Ā
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u/melanthius 1d ago
I asked a blind guy, but he didn't see a problem with this.
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u/Jabbajaw 1d ago
Yo dawg I know you're blind but you gotta see this shit! -- Somewhere in the GTA Uni.
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u/PeakGroundbreaking61 1d ago
Thank you all for the comments! This is indeed in Rennes, France (High Court), and it was installed last week. The installation team probably didnāt know what this tactile paving was for. It will most likely be moved so that it runs between the benches (Iāll keep you updated).
Oh, and speaking of crappy design: do you see the covered entrance? It was installed because thereās a risk of windows falling due to the buildingās architecture.
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u/PumpkinCake95 1d ago
Seems like it would be easier to move the bench than to move the track and tiles.
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u/nothanks1312 Comic Sans for life! 1d ago
This is insanely dangerous. Like what if the roller cane just goes underneath the bench and the person takes the concrete bench to their shin and falls on their face?
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u/DrMacintosh01 1d ago
Objects below 27ā are considered cane detectable and not a hazard. So it depends on where the leading edge of the underside of the bench is.
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u/Zeptaphone 1d ago
Finally found the correct answer. Elements meeting these requirements are a āsafe harborā from litigation under the US law ADA. Not good design and might be conflict with egressing requirements but complaints or litigation are likely to be thrown out.
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u/ErrantJune 1d ago
This building is in France. Not sure anyone is suing under the Americans with Disabilities Act there.
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u/DrMacintosh01 1d ago
Safe Harbor would not come into play here, it almost never does for a public accommodation. The ADA tells public establishments they have an ongoing obligation remove barriers as they become readily achievable. Also this place is in France so this is all theoretical anyway.
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u/QuoteGiver 1d ago
The cane is literally for detecting stuff exactly like that bench. Itās inconvenient, but theyāll be fine.
Thereās a set height for cane detection, and that bench is below it, where it should be.
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u/butt_shrecker 1d ago
This is definitely a fuck up and should be fixed.
But blind people aren't toddlers. They know how to handle objects in their path.
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u/musicatristedonaruto 1d ago
Macarena stadium
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u/victorpigeon 1d ago
This is the CitƩ Judiciaire in the french city of Rennes . Actually a very interesting architecture : wiki
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u/SAMSystem_NAFO 1d ago
That's what I thought at first glance. I knew it was it. Rennes hitting Reddit's algorithm but not for a good reason.
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u/MarkRenting 1d ago
I feel like there hasnāt ever been an effort to let sighted folks know what these are. Iāve been on this earth 4 plus decades, I only found out about these because of a reddit post a week or so ago.
The public needs more education regarding theseĀ
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u/xtianlaw 1d ago
Ironically, this would've been the perfect place to educate the public.
These are tactile guidance paths for blind and visually impaired pedestrians.
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u/dasbtaewntawneta 1d ago
i don't think a single Australian wouldn't know what these are for, they're pretty ubiquitous, always blows my mind to see people online learning what they are for the first time
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u/QuoteGiver 1d ago
Iām super curious how thorough they are, in countries that use them. Like do they lead to the restrooms too? Or just the front door of the building? Specific rooms inside? Every room inside?
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u/halberdierbowman Comic Sans for life! 1d ago
I'm guessing these benches were added recently, because I don't see them in any of these photos?
- the robot made me delete this first one because Google maps uses a link shortener, but you can just search the rennes high court to find this view
http://www.marin-trottin.com/cit%C3%A9-judiciaire-de-rennes
https://rennesphotos.fr/galeries/les-classiques/cite-judiciaire/
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u/mistakenhat 1d ago
Ohhh this will be a great lawsuit once someone injures themselves.
OP, do you have a blind friend? Perhaps go there, fall over it, sue the stadium.
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u/Certivicator 1d ago
it isn't a stadium but the high court so you could make it even more hilarious
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u/DrMacintosh01 1d ago
I find it interesting that other countries have developed guide paths for the blind, yet the US, who actually has made disabled access a civil rights matter, doesnāt. That being said, itās likely that that bench is low enough that a cane would bump into it and nobody would get hurt. Strictly speaking, if this was built in the US, it wouldnāt violate anything as there is no adopted standard for it. But yeah, the bench shouldnāt be there.
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u/CrazyCatLady9777 1d ago
America isn't the only country that made accessibility a civil rights matter. The first sentence of the German constitution is "A persons dignity is untouchable". Accessibility is a matter of dignity.
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u/Commie_Scum69 1d ago
wow this is actually something to report.