A new braille walking trail in Fayetteville — the first of its kind in the state — is part of an effort to create an independent exercise option for blind and visually impaired people.
The trail, which opened last week at the Vision Resource Center on Cedar Creek Road, has features that allow blind people to navigate it safely and independently, including a rope that lines the trail, a paved pathway and markers to signify the beginning of the path, and rest benches along the way.
“We got something just for them,” said Terry Thomas, executive director of Vision Resource Center. “It’s so hard sometimes to get people to see that. It’s so critically important.”
The trail’s construction was a collaboration between the center and Fayetteville-Cumberland Parks & Recreation. It was supported with funding from the Longleaf Fund, Piedmont Natural Gas, Bragg ‘N Barn Thrift Shop and Skyes Paving.
VRC held a grand opening for the trail last Thursday, which included music, speeches and a chance for people to try out the trail. Thomas said the trail has generated a lot of enthusiasm from the visually impaired community.
“Everybody was really excited, especially some of the older members that have been here for some time, to see it finally come to fruition, of it being a place where they can come,” Thomas said. “And just the emotion behind that made me feel good about it.”
Thomas said it’s the first of its kind in the state — a distinction that came with challenges along the way. She said the first iteration of the trail didn’t allow for the blind to use it independently. Ultimately, with the help of suggestions from staff members of the parks and recreation department, they were able to add features that made it fully accessible.
“Even though we’ve been doing (this work) for some time, we close our eyes, but that’s only for a moment,” Thomas said. “So I got with some of my VRC family members, and then I started looking up information on braille trails and stuff in different states. And I was like, ‘Wow, we could really make this nice.’”
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Thomas added that the blind people who have used the trail appreciate that it allows them to have independence and get excercise.
“A lot of them want to keep their health,” Thomas said. “Your sight is already gone, so you don’t want to suffer any other health issues. You want to get out and walk.”
Thomas hopes to eventually add features such as audio descriptions of the surroundings, artwork, more foliage and a “sensory garden.” Her goal is to have the trail incorporate additional senses that can enhance the experience of the blind and visually impaired people who use it.
“That’s the hope for Phase 2, to be able to say, ‘Oh, what you’re smelling now is this,’” Thomas said. “So it’s really their trail, where they can actually put their hand in the artistry or the wind chimes, those types of things, where we can have all the senses that they don’t necessarily have awakened.”
The Vision Resource Center is a nonprofit organization with a mission to enhance the quality of life for people who are blind or visually impaired in the Cape Fear region. Established in 1936, it offers a variety of services to youth and adults, such as support group meetings and independent living classes. To learn more about the center, visit its website.
