StreetNav app plots path to accessible city travel beyond Paris Paralympics

Paul Myers

8 September 2024 at 3:06 am·1-min read

As the Paris Paralympics bring fresh scrutiny to the shortage of accessible services in France, RFI met the developers of a route-finding app aiming to help users navigate the capital no matter what their mobility.

Across a courtyard, through a glass door, up a couple of floors, out to the right and round a bit to the left: a navigation app would come in handy inside the town hall of Paris's 20th arrondissement in order to find Charlie Galle.

He's one of the brains behind StreetNav, an app designed to help people with disabilities move more easily around the city.

The need for such a service has been brought into sharper focus by the Paris Paralympics, which started with a spectacular opening ceremony in central Paris on 28 August.

In the wake of such pomp and circumstance, organisers of the Games have been at pains to ensure that accessibility remains in the spotlight well after the Paralympic bandwagon has left town.

Tailored itineraries

StreetNav, which was launched in May following work between Galle's outfit N-Vibe and its collaborators AudioSpot and Streetco, offers its 20,000 users the chance to select from eight profiles ranging from regular pedestrian to physically impaired to wheelchair user, or someone with a baby carriage or heavy suitcase.

Users can then use the app to search for an itinerary to their destination of choice, tailored to suit their mobility.

AudioSpot worked a lot with people with hearing disabilities, he says.

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Tailored itineraries

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