January 23, 2025
Thanks to a collaboration between the Bureau of Fleet and Facilities and the Office of Equity and Human Rights Disability Program, tactile maps are now available at The Portland Building for blind and low vision visitors.
Successful equity and accessibility policies often begin with critical questions. K. Randi Selleck from the Portland Bureau of Fleet and Facilities helped launch the process by asking Nickole Cheron and Sue Jin Hee Minder from the Office of Equity and Human Rights’ Disability Equity Program: “Is there a way we can make navigating the Portland Building and City Hall more accessible to blind Portlanders?”
The solution to create tactile maps was based on Minder’s familiarity with them at the University of Minnesota and Portland Community College.
From that point, the collaboration yielded interviews with experienced vendors. Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired was chosen due to their successful work in creating maps for Braille readers to navigate downtown San Francisco.
Sue Jin Hee Minder proofread and tested the maps which are available for checkout and return at the Portland Building Information Desk. Maps for City Hall will be available by mid-February.