To Whom It May Concern:
         
I am blind, but I am also an American taxpayer!  I am strongly opposed to your June 17 proposed rules which would require that, to "help" the blind, our government would require detectable warnings at every street corner or accessible traffic signals at every traffic light.
         
What blind people need is high-quality training, not gadgets and gimmicks!  The enormous financial cost to the American taxpayer far outweighs any supposed benefit to the blind.  Trained blind people cross busy streets "just as they are" every day, but an outraged American taxpayer won't be so eager to hire them if this high cost is heaped upon them.

 

If people who are blind are properly trained to listen to traffic patterns and how to correctly cross intersections, they will have the confidence to  navigate any area.  There are training centers throughout the country whose staff are dedicated to training blind persons to live independent, productive lives, and one of the chief training areas of these centers is orientation and mobility.  Thankfully, I am a product of the Louisiana Center for the Blind, whose staff provided high-quality training for me in the area of intersection travel.  As a result, I use alternative techniques to cross several types of streets every day without traffic signals to guide me both in the town of Ruston and abroad.

 

Sincerely,

Joshua Boudreaux