I write as a blind citizen concerned about the safety of blind pedestrians and as a taxpayer concerned about the use of dollars badly needed for a host of human needs. Technology can assist blind people in travel in the same way it helps us access computer screens and the printed page, but it will not be the central determiner of our safety or our mobility.

I support the use of vibrotactile signals at intersections where it is difficult or impossible to determine the state of a light by traffic flow alone. I do not support the use of audible signals whose tones are so loud or so long that they obscure the sounds of the traffic since my safety is not determined by the state of a light but by whether or not I am in the path of an oncoming vehicle. I support a vibrotactile signal because it will not cause hardship to those who live near it but will, in certain locations, give me information valuable enough to justify its cost.

I do not support the use of audible signals which will make it difficult for those who live near because of its everpresent noise. Neither can I support deployment of this technology at every intersection since most are perfectly navigable without expense to all of us who pay taxes.

Lastly, I support the construction of sidewalks and streets which make clear the transition from one to the other either by angle or texture. The installation of truncated domes at all locations is not a good use of our money.

I support the positions of the National Federation of the Blind which represent an understanding of the role technology and limited environmental change can play in making better the lives of the blind, while at the same time keeping in central focus the ability of blind people to live in the world as we find it. I cannot endorse the thrust of the proposals now being considered, for they fail to take account of the cost and inconvenience to the broader society and the relative benefit of these changes to blind people who also have other needs which must be addressed.

Cordially,
Rita A. Lynch