The New TAC Accessible Pedestrian Signals Guidelines

This year the Transportation Association of Canada (TAC) will adopt new guidelines that update the accessible pedestrian signal provisions within the TAC Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Canada (MUTCDC). The Guidelines have been prepared in response to the evolving needs of people with vision loss, technological advances in the APS industry, and the need to address the high degree of variability amongst Canadian APS installations. The objective of the Guidelines is to act as a set of stand-alone instructions for the understanding, use and implementation of APS in Canada, and to expand upon the APS provisions within the TAC MUTCDC. The Guidelines are to provide deploying agencies with practical and uniform information on public liaison, APS installation prioritization and design, installation, operations and maintenance. Above all, they are to provide the instructions necessary to meet the accessible pedestrian signal needs of people with vision loss. It should be noted that these are strictly ‘guidelines’ and do not constitute a set of ‘standards’. Deploying agencies should consult the TAC MUTCDC for specific standards related to APS. The Guidelines now provide details on all stages of an APS installation starting with community liaison and APS prioritization, design, installation, operation, and maintenance. This report will present the approach taken to update these Guidelines and key operational updates that represent changes from the earlier APS provisions within the TAC MUTCDC.