Lurgan Park and Solitude Park – Making parks accessible for all!

 

Client requirement

The Armagh City, Banbridge, and Craigavon Council approached Brilliant Trails to make Lurgan Park and Solitude Park more accessible, particularly to visually impaired visitors. Their goal was to ensure that everyone could enjoy the parks equally.

During our first visit, we had the pleasure of meeting the project manager and the park manager. They took us on a walk through the parks and shared their vision and ideas with us. However, we were limited in terms of what we could put in the park, specifically signs because it is a natural environment under the Council’s management.

 

Our Approach 

The lead designer collected ideas and created concepts for an audio trail app to showcase multiple audio trails for visitors to listen to while walking through the park. Each trail will have questions and activities for visitors to complete while exploring the park.

We began working on the app and made sure that it was easy to navigate for everyone. We added pop-up alerts, so when a visitor is near a specific point of interest on the trail, their phone will ping and vibrate to alert them. The audio will then play automatically. This feature was developed to ensure that all visitors, including those who are visually impaired, can enjoy the trails.

This trail does not have any physical signage. However, we have provided a trailhead at the park entrance, which includes a map of the park, marked trail routes, and QR codes for easy app download. Additionally, we have installed a sign with a braille map of the park at an appropriate height and angle for easy access.

The Armagh City, Banbridge, and Craigavon Council expressed their satisfaction with the app’s outcome and trailheads. The app fulfilled their requirements and met their expectations. Furthermore, we provided the Council with access to the CMS system of the app, which enables any council employee to quickly make changes or add new trails to the park. The Council has complete control over their app’s appearance and content.

 

You can now download the EXPLOREABC audio app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.