Champlain College: Interactive Accessibility Map
In terms of physical accessibility Champlain College is a confusing mess. For someone with mobility issues there is a severe lack of ramps, elevators, and information available to allow them to comfortably traverse the main campus. To help with this issue I designed an online interactive map that provides students and faculty with everything they need to navigate campus more effectively.
The interactive map is designed on a free website called Maphub. There are several unique aspects of my map that make it far more useful then the accessibility map that’s currently available on the Champlain College website. For example, handicap accessible travel routes, elevator locations, organized categories for searching specific buildings or travel routes, viewable high quality images of buildings, and an interchangeable basemap. All of these factors contribute to making my map a direct upgrade when compared to the other maps available on the Champlain College website.
Accessible Travel Routes
The handicap accessible travel routes are specifically designed to take into account people who use a wheelchair. After determining each elevator’s location and the floors they can travel between I created direct travel routes to access almost any building on campus. Each travel route also includes a written description which is readable through any text to speech software.
Categories
Under the Item tab on my map there are 5 separate categories; Accessibility Routes, Elevators, Academic Buildings, Housing, and Other. Within each category there is additional information including addresses, images, and descriptions.
Basemap
Under the Basemap tab there are over 20 different map overlays to choose from. Having an interchangeable basemap is a useful feature that might be very beneficial for some people. Personally, I find the ESRI satellite basemap that is pre-selected upon accessing the map to be the most accurate and easiest to understand. However, other people might prefer a different basemap which is why I wanted to include the option.
Completion & Implementation
Currently the map is not complete. Due to campus closing I was not able to measure exact distances to implement into the accessibility route directions. In addition, most buildings on the map include an image to help people identify it. However, for smaller buildings such as Wick hall or Foster hall there aren’t any images available online. Regardless of the setback the map will still be completed before the next semester begins. Members of the Office of Diversity & Inclusion have kindly offered to help me complete these two missing parts once campus re-opens. Once the map is completed it will be added to the Champlain College website under the Maps & Directions section.
