Our Ref: LTA/DBC/R70.018.

001
Date: 8 April 2020

CIRCULAR TO PROFESSIONAL INSTITUTIONS

Who should know

Building owners, Developers, Architects, Engineers, Transport/ Traffic Consultants and
Builders.

INAUGURAL PUBLICATION OF LTA’S ‘QUICK GUIDE SERIES FOR

DEVELOPMENT RELATED PROPOSALS’

1. Industry professionals preparing plans to seek clearances for street works,

vehicle parking and rail & road structural protection proposals, currently have
access to various resource publications. These include LTA’s Code of Practice,
Standards & Specification, Guidelines, as well as Forms & Checklists. These
publications contain essential information regarding the acceptable design and
workmanship standards and guide industry on the submission processes to LTA.

2. With an aim to reach out to more QPs to broaden and consolidate understanding
of LTA’s building plan regulations and processes, LTA will be launching the
‘Quick Guide Series for Development Related Proposals’, which focusses on
street works, vehicle parking and rail & road structural protection proposals. The
guides complement the existing resource publications and facilitate a deeper
understanding of specific issues in an engaging format. Industry professionals
may also benefit from understanding the principles and rationale behind specific
requirements, and reviewing examples of good practices and common mistakes.

3. The topics to be featured in ‘Quick Guide Series for Development Related

Proposals’ guides are carefully curated based on LTA’s observations of
prevailing trends. In our inaugural publication, we will focus on ‘Inclusive streets:
Designing Tactile Tiles for Safe Travel’. Subsequent publications will be
released periodically. The publications are made available at LTA’s corporate
website, under Industry & Innovations > Industry Matters > Development &
Construction resources.
 4. We sincerely hope that you find the guides useful, and we look forward to more
engagement with the industry. We would appreciate it if you could convey the
contents of this circular to relevant members of your respective organisations. If
you have any queries, or suggestions on what you would like to see in future
guides, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected].

5. Thank you

Koh Min Ee
Director
Development & Building Control
 Skewed/Curved
 Determine the intersecting point of the footpath and the driveway/road
*INCLUSIVE STREETS:  Draw a perpendicular line from this intersection point towards the other edge of
the footpath
DESIGNING TACTILE  Measure the base of this triangle.
INDICATORS FOR SAFE - If the distance is less than 600 mm, place a straight set of tactile indicators
as shown in Figure 2.
TRAVEL - If the distance is more than 600 mm, place a staggered set of tactile
indicators as shown in Figure 3.
 To help in the placement of the tactile indicators, you may draw a imaginary line
offset by 300 mm from the edge of the carriageway. Ensure that the top/bottom
corner of the tactile indicators touch this imaginary line.
 Ensure that the width of the tactile indicators covers the entire width of the
crossing area.
 As a last check, draw an imaginary line from one set of tactile indicators to the
opposite set. Ensure that the imaginary lines lead to the safe crossing area
footpath, between the dotted lines of the pedestrian crossing etc)

300 mm

Objectives of tactile indicators

The use of tactile indicators plays an important role in building inclusive streets for   < 600 mm
visually impaired pedestrians. The correct placement of tactile indicators for
various situations paves the way for safe travel for the visually impaired
Driveway /
pedestrians. Conversely, incorrect placement of tactile indicators can lead to 
Road
hazardous situations. This quick guide helps Architects, Engineers and Builders to
identify the correct placement of tactile indicators for various situations. There are
also illustrations of common errors to be avoided. footpath
 
Tactile indicators are required where footpaths intersect with driveways of
developments and at-grade pedestrian crossings to guide the visually impaired < 600 mm
pedestrians to cross these locations safely. Tactile indicators act as landmarks 300 mm
providing crucial information to its users and its application must be targeted.
Widespread ad hoc application of tactile indicators will confuse the users, and
compromise the effectiveness of the specific cue being provided. Thus, tactile
indicators are not required where footpaths meet driveways to landed
developments as the multiple accesses along these roads and the limited frontage 
of these developments diminish the benefit of installing tactile indicators. All other 
development types shall provide tactile indicators.

*For information on tactile indicators within buildings, please refer to BCA’s Code
on Barrier Free Accessibility.
 
Positioning tactile indicators correctly Figure 2 – Skewed Driveway / Road

Follow these steps to correctly position the tactile indicators:

1. Determine whether the footpath is intersecting the driveway/road on a
straight, skewed or curved portion of the driveway/road.
Straight
 > 600 mm
 To help in the placement of the tactile indicators, you may draw a
imaginary line offset by 300 mm from the edge of the driveway/road.
 Place 2 rows of tactile indicators touching this imaginary line as shown in footpath Driveway /
Figure 1.  Road
 Ensure that the width of the tactile indicators covers the entire width of 
the crossing area.
> 600 mm
 
300 mm
 300 mm


Driveway / 
footpath  Road
footpath




300 mm 300 mm

Figure 1 – Straight Driveway / Road Figure 3 – Curved Driveway / Road

Quick Guide Series for Development Related Proposals, brought to you by

Development & Building Control Division
1/2
 Placing tactile indicators on a relatively flat area
Tactile indicators should be laid on flat area where the gradient of footpath is not steeper than 1 in 40. Any ramp should start at least 1m from the edge of
carriageway (indicated as  figure below). This allows the user on wheelchair or elderly persons to wait safely without being rolled over or slip whilst waiting to cross
the road.

The length of the flat area (not

steeper than 1:40) shall be at least 1m.

  The length of the flat area (not

steeper than 1:40) shall be at least 1m.

Figure 4 – Tactile indicators should be laid on flat area

 Common mistakes to avoid when installing tactile indicators

The purpose of a divider is to allow a 2-stage crossing for wider driveways. If a divider is proposed, there should be 2 sets of tactile indicators (each set

 consisting of 2 rows of tactile indicators) with a minimum interval of not less than 1200mm between them to avoid confusion to the visually impaired
pedestrians. If the minimum interval is not achievable, the tactile indicators should not be provided. Consequently, the width of the driveway needs to be
reduced to the minimum for safe crossing.
<1200mm
 >1200mm

footpath
footpath

DRIVEWAY DRIVEWAY
footpath
footpath
footpath
footpath

DRIVEWAY DRIVEWAY / ACCESS / ACCESS

/ ACCESS / ACCESS

Figure 4.1A – Inadequate interval between tactile indicators may confuse the Figure 4.1B – Correct arrangement with adequate interval between sets of tactile
visually impaired pedestrians indicators

 The tactile indicators (600mm wide) should be aligned with each other as incorrect positioning of indicators leads the visually impaired pedestrians in the
wrong direction


footpath

footpath
footpath
footpath

DRIVEWAY DRIVEWAY DRIVEWAY

footpath

DRIVEWAY
/ ACCESS / ACCESS / ACCESS / ACCESS

Figure 4.2A – Incorrect alignment may confuse the visually impaired pedestrians Figure 4.2B – Correctly aligned tactile indicators

 The tactile indicators (600mm wide) shall be installed in a set to indicate the start and end point of a crossing. Incorrect provision of the tactile indicators
delivers the wrong message to the visually impaired pedestrians.


footpath
footpath

DRIVEWAY DRIVEWAY
footpath

footpath
footpath

DRIVEWAY DRIVEWAY
/ ACCESS / ACCESS
/ ACCESS / ACCESS

Figure 4.3A – Incomplete tactile arrangement – ending tactile sets missing Figure 4.3B – Correct arrangement with starting and ending tactile sets

Quick Guide Series for Development Related Proposals, brought to you by

Development & Building Control Division
2/2