Braillito Maps · Accessibility guides
Tactile paving in the UK: the six surfaces and what each one tells you
Tactile paving is the textured paving that blind and partially sighted people read through their feet or with a long cane. In the UK the reference is the Department for Transport’s Guidance on the use of tactile paving surfaces, a guide to best practice that replaced the 1998 guidance and describes six surfaces, each with a single message: a crossing point, a hazard, two kinds of platform edge, the two sides of a shared cycle route, or a path to follow (DfT tactile paving guidance, sections 1.1 to 1.3). This guide goes through the six surfaces, their colours and how each one is laid.
This guide summarises the sources it cites; it is not legal advice. The official texts are the reference.
What tactile paving is for
Tactile paving gives vision impaired people two kinds of information about the street: a warning of a hazard and directions to follow. People with sight loss actively look for differences in texture underfoot, so each surface has to be used correctly and consistently, or it tells them the wrong thing (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 1.1).
It is also a compromise. The research behind the original guidance found that tactile paving makes the going harder for wheelchair users and people with walking difficulties, so the amount laid is kept to what the surfaces need to do. The textures are strong enough to be felt by most people, including older people and those with less feeling in their feet because of conditions such as diabetes, but they are designed not to be a trip hazard or to cause undue discomfort to people with arthritis, or to wheelchair and mobility scooter users (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 1.2).
The surfaces are read underfoot or with a white cane, and guide dog handlers meet them too. Apart from the central delineator strip on shared cycle routes, none of them is a traffic sign, so they are not in the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 and need no authorisation from the Secretary of State. The Information Surface of the 1998 guidance, meant to help people find amenities such as a ticket office, was dropped because it was hardly used (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 1.3).
The six tactile paving surfaces
Each surface has its own shape, so that a person can tell them apart without seeing them:
| Surface | What it tells you, and where | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Blister | a pedestrian crossing point, where the footway is flush with the carriageway; at controlled crossings it also forms a stem that leads to the crossing | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 2.1 |
| Corduroy hazard warning | “hazard, proceed with caution”: steps, level crossings, the approach to on-street tram platforms and the start of areas shared with cyclists | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 3.1 |
| Platform edge (on-street), or lozenge | the edge of an on-street tram or other light rapid transit platform is near | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 4.1 |
| Segregated shared cycle track and footway, ladder and tramline, with a central delineator strip | which side of a shared route is for walking and which for cycling | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 5.1 |
| Guidance path | a route to follow where there is no property line or kerb edge, or a way around obstacles such as street furniture in a pedestrianised area | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 6.1 |
| Platform edge (off-street) | the edge of a heavy rail, underground or off-street tram platform is near | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 7.1 |
Their profiles, as the guidance defines them:
| Surface | Profile | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Blister | rows of flat-topped blisters 5 mm high, in straight lines | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 2.2 |
| Corduroy | rounded bars 6 mm high and 20 mm wide, 50 mm from centre to centre, running across the direction of walking: eight bars on a 400 mm module | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 3.2 |
| Lozenge | lozenges 6 mm high with rounded edges, 150 mm by 83 mm, 50 mm apart: six on a 400 mm module | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 4.2 |
| Ladder and tramline | flat-topped bars 5 mm high and 30 mm wide, 70 mm apart: four on a 400 mm module | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 5.2 |
| Central delineator strip | 12 to 20 mm high, preferably 20 mm, and 150 mm wide, with sloping sides and a flat top of 50 mm | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 5.2 |
| Guidance path | flat-topped bars 5.5 mm high and 35 mm wide, 45 mm apart, running in the direction of walking: five on a 400 mm module | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 6.2 |
| Platform edge (off-street) | offset rows of flat-topped domes 5 mm high, 66.5 mm from centre to centre | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 7.2 |
The heights of the blisters, bars, lozenges and domes have a tolerance of ±0.5 mm (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 1.7.1). They can be made of any material with a slip resistance suited to a footway or, for the off-street platform edge, to its location (DfT tactile paving guidance, sections 2.2 to 7.2).
Tactile paving colours: red, buff and contrast
Red is kept for one use. The blister surface is red at controlled crossings, the colour established for them since 1981, so that partially sighted people can tell the crossing is controlled, and red blister paving is not used anywhere else (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 1.5.4). No other tactile surface is red, and neither is the blister surface at an uncontrolled crossing (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 2.2).
| Surface | Colour | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Blister at a controlled crossing | red | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 2.2 |
| Blister at an uncontrolled crossing | usually buff; any colour other than red that contrasts with the surrounding surface | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 2.2 |
| Corduroy, lozenge, ladder and tramline | normally buff; any colour other than red with good contrast | DfT tactile paving guidance, sections 3.2, 4.2 and 5.2 |
| Central delineator strip | a white finish | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 5.2 |
| Guidance path and off-street platform edge | any colour other than red with good tonal contrast | DfT tactile paving guidance, sections 6.2 and 7.2 |
Only a small share of vision impaired people have no sight at all; many can still see contrasts of colour and tone, which is why the colours matter. Other red material near a controlled crossing is best avoided; where it cannot be, a border 150 mm wide that contrasts in colour and tone around the blister surface should be enough. The contrast also changes with the light and with whether the paving is wet or dry, which should guide the choice of materials (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 1.5.4).
In conservation areas and near listed buildings, and only there, the surface may be in a colour in keeping with the surrounding material, though never red at an uncontrolled crossing. Before the local authority decides, the guidance asks for discussions with local groups of vision impaired people, rehabilitation or mobility officers and the local conservation officer. For more on visual contrast it points to ISO 23599, the international standard on tactile walking surface indicators (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 1.5.4).
Blister paving at pedestrian crossings
Wheelchair users, many people with rollators and people pushing buggies need crossings without a kerb, but the kerb is what tells a vision impaired person that the footway has ended. The blister surface takes over that warning wherever there is no kerb upstand higher than 25 mm, and it is used only at designated crossing points (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 2.1): where the footway has been dropped flush with the carriageway, or where the carriageway has been raised to the level of the footway (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 2.3.1).
The guidance sorts crossings into two groups, and the layout and the colour depend on which one a crossing belongs to:
- Controlled crossings, where vehicles and cycles must stop at a red light or give way, so pedestrians have priority in law: Zebra and Parallel crossings, and the signal-controlled Toucan, Pedex, Puffin and Equestrian crossings and traffic signal junctions with pedestrian phases. Pelican crossings can no longer be installed in England, Scotland or Wales, although existing ones can stay (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 2.3.1).
- Uncontrolled crossings, where pedestrians have no priority in law and decide for themselves when it is safe to cross: side streets at simple priority junctions, the arms of roundabouts without signals, signal junctions without pedestrian phases, informal crossings between junctions, kerb-to-kerb flat-top road humps and busy vehicle crossovers to a car park, service yard or forecourt (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 2.3.1).
| Crossing | Layout | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Controlled, with the dropped kerb in the direct line of travel | 1200 mm deep | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 2.4.1 |
| Controlled, other layouts | 800 mm deep, and never less than 800 mm where the back edge is not parallel to the kerb | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 2.4.1 |
| Controlled: the stem | 1200 mm wide, from the dropped kerb to the back of the footway, preferably to the building line, leading to the push button box on the right-hand side of the crossing; 5 metres is enough in most cases | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 2.4.1 |
| Uncontrolled, inset into a side street and not in the direct line of travel | across the full width of the dropped kerb, 400 mm deep | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 2.4.2 |
| Uncontrolled, in the direct line of travel | across the full width of the dropped kerb, 1200 mm deep | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 2.4.2 |
| Refuge less than 2 m deep | across its full width, set back behind the kerb, or 150 mm from the edge of the carriageway, on both sides | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 2.5.3 |
| Refuge 2 m deep or more | two rows, each 800 mm deep | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 2.5.3 |
The back edge of the blisters across the dropped kerb is set at right angles to the direction of crossing, even when that leaves it out of parallel with the kerb, because some people line themselves up on it and others on the rows of blisters (DfT tactile paving guidance, sections 2.4.1 and 2.4.2). At a controlled crossing the stem and the blisters at the kerb form an L, and the stem runs in line with the direction of crossing so that it helps with alignment as well. In one-way streets and on staggered crossings with traffic coming from the left, the stem still leads to a button on the right, with a second button on the left (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 2.4.1). The rotating cone under the push button box is explained in the guide to accessible pedestrian signals.
The dropped kerb comes first. Its base is preferably flush with the carriageway, with an upstand of no more than 6 mm and a rounded bullnose; the ramp is no steeper than 1:12 in the direct line of travel, and 1:20 where there is room; the tapered kerbs at its sides are no steeper than 1:11; the flush section is at least 1200 mm wide, or 3000 mm with heavy pedestrian flows; and behind it there is preferably a level space of at least 900 mm (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 2.1). At junctions, crossings sit on the line people naturally walk but not on the curved radius kerb, with a straight length of kerb upstand of 900 to 1000 mm beyond the radius that helps people line up before they cross (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 2.3.2); tactile paving is not meant to make up for basic flaws in the layout of a street (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 2.3.1).
Blisters are not laid on refuges or splitter islands where people are not meant to stop, red goes on refuges only at controlled crossings (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 2.5.3), and when a crossing is closed or moved, its blister surface is taken up (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 2.2). The American equivalent at a curb ramp is a field of truncated domes.
Corduroy paving: steps, level crossings and other hazards
The corduroy surface says “hazard, proceed with caution”. It can be used wherever people need that warning except at pedestrian crossings, which have the blister surface, and its bars always run across the direction of walking (DfT tactile paving guidance, sections 3.3 and 3.4). It is not a warning for obstacles such as cycle stands, where people should not carry on at all: those belong out of the way, with tapping rails where that is not possible, or a guidance path around them (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 3.3).
| Place | Layout | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Top and bottom of steps | across the full width of the flight, starting 400 mm from the first nosing where possible; 800 mm deep if the steps are in the direct line of travel, 400 mm if people have to turn deliberately to reach them; at least 400 mm beyond the steps on each side, but not across an adjacent ramp or lift | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 3.4.1 |
| Ramp to an on-street tram or other light rail platform | at the bottom only, across the full width, 800 mm deep and set back 400 mm from the foot of the ramp | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 3.4.2 |
| Level crossing | across the full width of the footway, or 1200 mm where there is no footway, starting 400 mm from the barrier; 400 mm deep with barriers on both sides, 800 mm with none, and with a barrier on one side, 400 mm on that side and 800 mm on the other | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 3.4.3 |
| Unprotected entrance to a station platform | 800 mm deep, across the full width of the entrance | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 3.5.1 |
| Start of a shared cycle route or area | 800 mm deep, where a footway joins a segregated route on the cycle track side or meets an area shared by pedestrians and cyclists | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 3.5.2 |
The 400 mm before the first step gives people time to adjust their walking speed. On a stair with intermediate landings, a continuous handrail tells the user that the flight goes on, so the surface is not repeated at each landing, unless the steps can also be reached from that landing; where a ramp sits right next to the steps, care is needed so that the way onto it stays clear for wheelchair and other mobility aid users (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 3.4.1). The rules for steps and ramps in new buildings in England are in Approved Document M.
Platform edges: lozenges and off-street domes
Platforms have two surfaces of their own, and neither is the blister surface. The lozenge surface goes on all on-street tram and other light rapid transit platforms and never on off-street ones (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 4.3); the off-street surface, with its offset rows of domes, goes on heavy rail, underground and off-street tram platforms, and the guidance describes it as different from the blister surface of crossings (DfT tactile paving guidance, sections 7.1 to 7.3).
| Surface | Layout | Source |
|---|---|---|
| On-street (lozenge) | immediately behind the coping stone and at least 500 mm from the platform edge; 400 mm deep along the whole platform and down any ramps, with corduroy at the bottom of the ramps | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 4.4 |
| Off-street (domes) | immediately behind the coping stone, usually 600 to 700 mm from the platform edge and never less than 500 mm; 400 mm deep along the whole platform | DfT tactile paving guidance, section 7.4 |
The distance gives people time to stop once they feel the surface, and the off-street layout assumes they then take a step back. The surface is never laid at right angles to the edge to mark the end of a platform: where the platform ends or slopes down to the track, it stops, and the end has either a barrier or a visual marking with a tactile hazard warning (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 7.4). In the United States, the warning along rail platforms is a strip of truncated domes.
Ladder and tramline paving on shared cycle routes
Shared routes are a last resort: the guidance points to Local Transport Note 1/20, which says that shared use routes should not be used in streets with high pedestrian or cyclist flows. Where a footway and a cycle track do run side by side with no physical separation, such as a change in level, the ladder and tramline surface and the central delineator strip are used (DfT tactile paving guidance, sections 5 and 5.3).
The same slab is laid two ways. On the footway side its bars run across the direction of walking, the ladder; on the cycle track side they run in the direction of cycling, the tramline, chosen because the rumble of bars across the wheels was expected to keep cyclists off the pedestrian side (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 5.2). It is laid at the start and end of the route, at junctions with other routes and as repeaters along it, across the full width of both sides: 2400 mm deep, or 800 mm for the repeater strips (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 5.4).
The central delineator strip runs the whole length of the route as a kerb between the two sides; a painted white line is not enough, because vision impaired people cannot detect it. The strip is the only tactile element prescribed in the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016, as diagram 1049.1 (DfT tactile paving guidance, sections 5.2 and 5.4). Even so, the guidance notes that it is hard to maintain and may be disregarded by pedestrians, and that a kerb at least 50 mm high, or a light-coloured strip that can be found with a cane, is likely to work better (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 5.1).
The guidance path
Along a street, many vision impaired people follow the property line or the kerb. Where those cues are missing, as in a pedestrian precinct, or to lead people around obstacles, to a particular place or between facilities in a transport terminal, a guidance path can be laid. People follow it by walking on it or by keeping a long cane in contact with it (DfT tactile paving guidance, sections 6.1 and 6.3). Before one is installed, local groups of vision impaired and other disabled people should be consulted on the route (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 6.3). How it is laid:
- 800 mm wide, with the bars in the direction of walking; on a narrower path people find it hard to keep contact (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 6.4);
- as straight as possible, because people lose contact at bends and junctions, so sharp bends are avoided (DfT tactile paving guidance, sections 6.4 and 6.5.2);
- at least 800 mm of clear space on each side, for anyone who strays off the path, for a guide dog and for people who find the surface uncomfortable, and at least 2000 mm between the path and the property line in busy shopping centres (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 6.4);
- before a right-angle turn or a junction, the bars turn across the direction of walking for up to 1200 mm, as a warning that the route changes (DfT tactile paving guidance, sections 6.5.1 and 6.5.3);
- around inspection covers where possible, or inlaid in them where not (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 6.4).
How a long cane reads the ground, and what its colours mean, is in the white cane guide.
Wear, street works and module size
A surface only works while its profile is intact. Blisters still work at 4.5 mm, the lower end of their tolerance; below that they become much less effective, and below 3 mm they are likely to be virtually undetectable. The other five surfaces still work at their lower tolerance and fade from there until they can no longer be felt, which is why their condition is monitored and their replacement planned (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 1.7.1).
After street works, the Specification for the Reinstatement of Openings in Highways, statutory guidance under section 71 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, says that tactile paving removed for the works must be put back in its original place before the highway reopens to traffic and pedestrians, and replaced immediately once the works are complete (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 1.7.2).
Most of the diagrams use the 400 mm by 400 mm module, but there is no restriction on size: larger slabs and smaller blocks are available, and picking the right one means fewer cut units and the trip hazards that come with them (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 1.8).
Who the guidance is for, and the Equality Act
The guidance is a guide to best practice for public or private bodies and individuals who provide, design, improve and maintain the public realm, and it is also meant to tell everyone else what the surfaces mean (DfT tactile paving guidance, sections 1.1 and 1.4). It supports the public sector Equality Duty in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, in force since 5 April 2011, and those making reasonable adjustments under section 20 of the Act; Northern Ireland has similar duties in its own legislation (DfT tactile paving guidance, sections 1.4 and 1.5.3). One of the requirements of section 20 concerns a physical feature that puts a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage (Equality Act 2010, section 20, subsection 4); what the duty means for a shop, a café or a museum is in Equality Act reasonable adjustments.
Tactile paving is one part of a wider design. The guidance asks for it to be considered from the earliest stage of a scheme, together with even street lighting, the repair of uneven footways and the removal of obstacles around it; and when a crossing point on one side of a street is upgraded to be fully accessible, the one on the other side must be upgraded in the same way. Installations also have to meet other requirements, such as the Building Regulations, the Scottish Building Standards and the Design Standards for Accessible Railway Stations (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 1.5.1). For buildings in England, the access rules are in Approved Document M.
Authorities are also asked to engage with vision impaired people and their organisations from early on: national organisations when a technical solution is needed, local ones to decide where tactile paving goes first, and always before a guidance path is laid (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 1.6).
Where to read the official texts
- The Department for Transport’s Guidance on the use of tactile paving surfaces, with a diagram of each layout: DfT tactile paving guidance.
- Inclusive Mobility, the department’s broader guidance on designing an inclusive public realm, to which the tactile paving guidance refers: Inclusive Mobility.
- The duty to make reasonable adjustments, section 20 of the Equality Act 2010: Equality Act 2010, section 20.
- The American version, with the ADA dome sizes: truncated domes. The Australian version, with warning and directional indicators: tactile ground surface indicators in Australia. How the UK rules sit next to those of other countries: accessibility laws by country.
Tactile paving on Braillito Maps
A street can follow the guidance at every crossing and still leave people guessing about the places along it. Braillito Maps is a community map that answers ten questions about each place: step-free entrance or ramp, wide doorway, accessible toilet, accessible parking, tactile paving, braille signage, braille menu, audible signals, guide dogs welcome and a quiet environment.
Tactile paving is one of them: whether there is a tactile guide on the floor for people who use a cane. Each question is answered yes or no, or stays without data until someone knows, and the score of a place is the number of yes answers out of ten, always shown with its number, never by colour alone.
If you run a shop, a café or an office in the UK, add your place with its answers, so that customers with disabilities find it before they leave home. If what a place says is wrong, it can be reported. Meet Braillito Maps.
Frequently asked questions
What is tactile paving?
Textured paving that blind and partially sighted people can feel underfoot or with a cane. In the UK, the Department for Transport guidance describes six surfaces: blister, corduroy, the on-street and off-street platform edge surfaces, ladder and tramline for shared cycle routes, and the guidance path (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 1.3).
What do the colours of tactile paving mean?
Red blister paving marks a controlled crossing, such as a Zebra, Puffin or Toucan crossing, and red is not used for any other tactile surface. Blister paving at uncontrolled crossings is usually buff, and the other surfaces are buff or any colour other than red that contrasts with the paving around them (DfT tactile paving guidance, sections 1.5.4, 2.2 and 3.2).
What is blister paving?
Rows of flat-topped blisters 5 mm high, laid at designated pedestrian crossing points where the footway is flush with the carriageway, so that vision impaired people know where the footway ends and the road begins (DfT tactile paving guidance, sections 2.1 and 2.2).
What is corduroy paving used for?
It warns “hazard, proceed with caution”: at the top and bottom of steps, at level crossings, at the foot of ramps to on-street tram platforms, at unprotected entrances to station platforms and where a footway meets a route shared with cyclists. Its rounded bars, 6 mm high, run across the direction of walking (DfT tactile paving guidance, sections 3.1 to 3.3).
How far from the steps does corduroy paving start?
Where possible, 400 mm from the first nosing, at both the top and the bottom of the flight. It is 800 mm deep when the steps are in the direct line of travel, or 400 mm when people have to turn to reach them (DfT tactile paving guidance, section 3.4.1).
Is platform edge paving the same as blister paving?
No. Off-street rail platforms use offset rows of flat-topped domes 5 mm high, 66.5 mm from centre to centre, which the guidance describes as different from the blister surface; on-street tram platforms use a lozenge surface (DfT tactile paving guidance, sections 4.2 and 7.2).
More accessibility guides
- Truncated domes and tactile paving: what the bumps on curb ramps and platform edges mean, and their sizes in the US and the UK.
- The white cane: what it tells the person using it and the people around them, and White Cane Safety Day.
- Guide dogs: how they work, where they can go under the ADA, and how to act around one.
- Accessible pedestrian signals: how the push button, the locator tone, the walk tick and the vibrating arrow tell blind pedestrians when to cross.
- Approved Document M (Part M): Part M of the Building Regulations in England, volume by volume: M4(1), M4(2) and M4(3) homes, and ramps, doors, lifts and toilets in other buildings.
- Equality Act reasonable adjustments: the three requirements of section 20, why the duty is anticipatory, who pays, and what a shop, restaurant or service can change in its building.
- Accessibility laws by country: the ADA, the UK Equality Act, the Accessible Canada Act, Australia’s DDA and the EU rules, and what each covers.
- All accessibility guides
Sources
Every figure in this guide comes from one of these official texts, which we read in October 2026.
- Guidance on the use of tactile paving surfaces. Department for Transport (UK), December 2021, published January 10, 2022.
- Equality Act 2010, section 20: duty to make adjustments. UK Parliament, on legislation.gov.uk, text in force, read October 2026.
- Inclusive Mobility: A Guide to Best Practice on Access to Pedestrian and Transport Infrastructure. Department for Transport (UK), December 2021, published January 10, 2022.
Braillito Maps
Find places with ramps, accessible toilets or tactile paving near you in Braillito Maps
In Braillito Maps, every place answers ten questions. One is tactile paving: whether there is a tactile guide on the floor for cane users. It is built by the people who need it, and every place gets a score out of ten.
Free · No ads · For iPhone