Joleen Ferguson

October 17, 2002

Please convey my message of strong support for accessible pedestrian signals and detectable warnings to all members of the Access Board and feel free to include my comments on the web page with the many others that already appear there.

My first experience with mobility training occurred in 1964 when I learned to travel in Seattle, Washington with a white cane and under the guidance of a mobility instructor. In this way, many of us who are blind or visually impaired have learned to negotiate the streets of our nation in relative safety.

My first experience with an accessible signal was a very loud bell on a busy corner during mobility training period. I must say that I never became comfortable with it, and found it of no value. I next encountered audible signals in Salt Lake City many years ago. I was a visitor and did not stay long enough to develop a comfort level with them either. During a trip to Prague with my sighted husband, we were crossing a busy street when I heard a woodpecker-type sound that started slowly and then doubled its speed. I said to my husband in surprise, "They have accessible signals!" So unobtrusive were they that he had not even noticed them in the midst of all the traffic sounds.

The fixed phase light cycle is becoming a thing of the past as intersections are updated. Signals are being installed that use video cameras to "watch" the cars approaching the intersection and adjusting the timing so as to best move traffic with minimal delay. This has a profound influence on my ability to safely judge traffic flow. When traffic is light, cars do not stop and then create a surge of traffic. The light may change for only two cars to clear the intersection.

When I now hear the surge of parallel traffic, I must ask myself if I will have time to clear the street before the signal changes giving the traffic on the street I am crossing the "green light". Now, it is necessary to push a button to tell the computer a pedestrian wants time to cross. The computer adjusts the timing of the light cycle appropriately. The obvious problem is clear. If the walk sign is not accessible, there is no way to know how long the parallel traffic will have the "green light."

We have one accessible signal in our community, and there are many more crossings that need one. My first reaction to it was disappointment because it was distracting to me. First, I had to wait and listen to see just which noise meant walk for which street. The additional information was nerve racking. However, I realized the importance of it, and I persisted until I could feel comfortable with processing the new information as well as that from the familiar traffic sounds. Now it is very nice to arrive at the intersection and push the button. I know right away if I have enough time to cross before the change of the light. Things that are new to us are confusing at first just as for anyone, but I have found that the added information from the signal is well worth the extra effort it took me to accustom myself to the additional sounds.

As for vibrotactile buttons, some are not located near the curb. The time it would take to travel from the button to the curb would use up the walk phase entirely. Also, they are touted for people who are deaf! One must remember that they are not an indication that the street is safe to cross. They are only an indication that the walk sign is illuminated! If a person is truly deaf, his limited or absent hearing would make it difficult or impossible for him to cross safely because of the inability to judge traffic sounds.

As for detectable warnings, I have found myself in subway stations in various places where I found the sounds around me to be very disconcerting. I would greatly have appreciated some way of knowing how close I might be to the edge of the platform. Similarly, there is a street crossing in our community where the sidewalk and street meet so seamlessly that there is nothing under foot to give an indication that I have entered the street. There is no color change between the side walk and the street. Even my dogs have had difficulty learning to stop for this intersection. I have frequently completed a crossing at this intersection before I realized I had entered the street.

I have participated in a survey concerning APS but I do not consider myself an expert on the best type to install. Studies are being done to determine what signal types are best. Instinctively, I would favor a signal that emits a locator tone on the push button because this would give me the knowledge that a button exists to be pressed, even in an unfamiliar area. I understand that the noise level of such a button can be adjusted so as to be heard only a few feet from the source. This would not be loud enough to annoy residents of the area or be mistaken for accessible signals at other corners a block away.

Thank you for providing a forum for me to share my concerns. If my comments have caused one person to reconsider a negative stance about accessible signals and detectable warnings, the time to elaborate on this subject will have been well worth the effort.

Thank you once again for taking time to read and compile the information on this very critical topic.

Joleen Ferguson