Dear Access board members,

I wish to register my strong support for the provisions set forth in the Prowac report. Phoenix Arizona is the number one place in the nation for red light runners. Because of this, I no longer feel safe depending on sighted drivers to let me know when the light is green. We are taught to listen to our parallel traffic and to cross when they go. Well, with so many drivers running red lights around here, I would like to have audible signals. Sighted drivers have traffic lights and signs they can see and I would like equal access to that information.

Just yesterday I was standing at a relatively small intersection waiting for the light to change. I heard a car idling on my right who was also waiting for the light to change. He/she waited there a few seconds and then proceeded across the street. I went also thinking we had the green light. The car made it through the intersection, but before I got half way across, two cars sped toward me, slamming on their brakes. That driver on my right ran the light, but I had no way of knowing it because it was just the two of us there. I must cross at this intersection everyday on my way to and from work and I feel as though my days are numbered.

While I have no difficulty feeling the slope of the ramp as I approach an intersection, people who have diabetes often have neuropathy in their hands and feet, making it very difficult to feel anything. Also, some places have blended curbs making it impossible to know for certain whether you are on the sidewalk or the street. Given this information, I think detectable warnings are necessary.

While members of the National Federation of the Blind are content to be forced to rely on sighted drivers in order to know when to cross streets, others of us are not! We want equal access to information.

Sincerely,
River Forest