Craig Hedgecock

October 20, 2002

I have been blind since birth and have lived in a variety of different environments ranging from urban to rural settings. From time to time I have traveled and heard a variety of audible traffic signals, and recently a few of them have been installed in Albany NY. I have not only wasted time to try and figure them out, but I also think that thousands of dollars were wasted in this process. Millions I mean billions of dollars will be wasted if the proposed guidelines of June 17th regarding this matter goes through. I for one almost need someone to teach me how to use each audible traffic signal because of their inconsistency of tone and cycle. For instance what does one sound mean one way and the other another way for each intersection? A beeping sound may mean north south is free to cross in one intersection and a chirp sound may mean it in another. What happens when they go off at the same time. Anyway I am taking this time to write this because I don't have time to learn how to use these devises and quite frankly have been doing just fine for 31 years without them. I can't imagine carrying my audible traffic signal manual around with me to everywhere I travel. I have even seen some traffic signals that talk. I wonder if there will be bilingual traffic signals. Although this and the idea of detectable warnings is well intentioned, good travel instruction and training is a much better use of tax payer dollars. Each intersection is so unique and people are all unique in their ability to get around in their environment. Placing such mandates would put all blind people in a box and to the general public it would all be assumed that we need these traffic signals and detectable warnings to get around. This would then create more assumptions that we may need other expensive and unreasonable accommodations to help us live work and play in our environments of our choosing. I don't want this and I don't think the access board wants this burden of paying for it either.

respectfully
Craig Hedgecock