Helen Dodge
|
October 23, 2002 |
I am a blind person who travels independently. I am strongly opposed to
the draft guidelines issued by the National Architectural and Transportation
Barriers Compliance Board on June 17, 2002, mandating the installation of
audible traffic signals at all intersections with signals and the placing of
detectable warnings at every street crossing. These installations as they are
proposed are not necessary for the safety of blind pedestrians. They would not
increase access for blind people and would actually, in my view, decrease
safety. The detectable warnings are not needed except in situations where there
are not adequate warnings already present. At most intersections there are
sufficient warnings present to enable a blind pedestrian to know when he or she
is approaching a intersection. Moreover, the domes pose a hazard for people in
wheelchairs, and I have heard of people getting their heels caught in them. The
audible signals also would create a significant hazard if they are installed at
all signaled intersections because of their potential for distracting blind
pedestrians from their primary task of listening to the direction of the flow of
traffic. I know of a blind man who was killed while crossing a street because he
listened to the audible signal to walk and was not listening to the approach of
a car that was running a red light. I believe that nonvisual signals would be
helpful in certain special circumstances, but I think that in such situations a
vibratory signal would be a much better choice than the audible signal, since it
would not add a further distraction to the already existing noise level. It
would there do a better job of promoting safety.
I hope that the Board will give serious thought to the comments it receives
from those of us who feel that blind people do not need major
modifications of the environment in order to travel safely. The implementation
of your guidelines as they are now written would, I understand, cost billions.
In my opinion, and in the view of a great many of us, such an expenditure would
constitute a huge waste of public funds.
Helen Dodge