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I am writing to urge you to support audible pedestrian signals and detectable warnings.

I am the mother of Emily, a 17 year old girl who is legally blind. Emily was
diagnosed with a brain tumor when she was 6 years old. We have fought a hard
battle, and she has been doing just great! However, because of tumor related
complications, Emily lost most of her vision when she was 13. In some ways,
this has been the hardest battle of all. My biggest concern is for her
safety.

Emily wants to go to college. She wants to be independent. She is extremely
bright, and is currently taking Pre-Calculus, Honors Physics and Music Theory
at school. She is at the top of her class in all these subjects. I fully
support her in wanting to live in a dorm, pursue a career in math and/or
music, and to be as independent as possible. In order to do this, she must be
able to travel safely. Although she will never be as secure as a fully
sighted person, there are things that can help. Please support audible
pedestrian signals and detectable warnings, so that Emily has a chance to go
to college on her own, to travel to a job on her own when the time comes.
Please give her a chance to stay out of harm's way by providing her with cues
she so desperately needs, that the rest of us take for granted. After
fighting so hard for her life, how sad it would be if she were to lose it
because she didn't know it wasn't safe to cross the street.

Sincerely,
Valerie Crockett