I am writing to support proposals made by the Public Rights of Way Advisory
Committee regarding increasing safety for individuals with disabilities. My
particular area of interest is blindness and visual impairment. I have been
teaching orientation and mobility skills to people varying levels of sight
loss for over twenty years. It had been my experience that most people with
visual impairment want to be independent and that a big part of that
independence means being able to get around in their communities on their
own. Appropriately marked changes in elevation, such as steps and curbs,
textures to indicate ramped areas and, in addition, audible signals are a few
of the innovations that make independence possible. Of course, people who
have visual disabilities are not the only ones who would benefit from the
proposed changes; those with other disabilities would also gain increased
access within their communities. Further, many of the proposed changes would
help our increasingly growing population of elders to travel more safely.
My belief is that as a society, we will benefit by using all our human
resources. People with visual impairment or any other disability are valuable
members of our communities, and should be treated as such. The first step is
to allow them safe access. May I ask your support of the PROWAC proposal?
Thank you so much.
Sincerely,
Mary Elizabeth Clark, M.Ed., COMS, CLVT