Ken Gerlitz

October 29, 2002

My name is Ken Gerlitz. I'm 56 years old and have been legally blind since the age of 6. In 1978, I worked for the California Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, Mobility Barriers Section. At that time, we were advocating for accessible signage for the deaf and blind. Do you mean to Are you telling me that in October of 2002, this issue still hasn't been resolved?

This is a health and safety issue and should be a no brainer. Why are blind people always singled out as being something different and less important than our general population? If it is important to have cross walks, trafficsignals, warning signs etc. for the general public, then why is it so difficult to assume that the blind need the same protections and considerations. If anything, we deserve more. We don't have the luxury of traveling in the safety and confort of our own cars. We are out there, on the streets, crossing dangerous intersections, on a daily basis, without any protection.

Would the legislature allow their own children to face these hazzards alone? I doubt it! Why are we so reluctant to provide this additional safety to our blind citizens? If the adaptive devices are installed when these crosswalks are initially constructed, the cost is minimal. You'll also find that many older citizens and younger children benefit from these same devices. Other countries such as; New Zeland, Australia and Japan are so much further along with these efforts then the United States. Shame on our legislature for not supporting this cause. I believe that our blind organizations should place their local legislators and U.S. Congressional Representatives, on notice, and state:That whenever a blind or Visually Impaired person becomes injured or killed in a busy crossing, that isn't made accessible, that jurisdiction will be held legally responsible for ignoring the health and safety of that individual. Maybe then, this would make the legislature take action on this issue, once and for all.

Ken Gerlitz