Nanette Nickerson
|
October 28, 2002 |
To whom it may concern,
I am a registered voter in Marin County and I am in favor of legislation
promoting audible cross-walk signals for lighted intersections. As a dog guide
instructor I have had the opportunity to observe the usefulness of these
devices. As traffic has become more congested, intersections have gotten more
complicated and some car engines have been made to be very quiet, the challenge
of determining a safe and appropriate time to cross the street has become more
difficult for many blind and visually impaired individuals. It is one thing to
negotiate a complicated intersection when you are familiar with it and
understand how the traffic patterns work. Factors such as free flowing right
turn lanes and timing of left turn right of way need to be considered. Do the
left turners go before or after traffic continuing straight ahead, are they
allowed to turn left on any green as long as they yield to oncoming traffic?
Many capable vision impaired pedestrians would have the skills to figure out the
answers to these questions by standing through a couple of traffic cycles and
observing the patterns. I know that if I was negotiating an unfamiliar area I
would probably have more pressing things to concentrate on like getting to where
I was going. Any prudent pedestrian crossing the street, sighted or not is wise
to make sure that it is safe to step into the street when the cross walk
indicator signals right of way.
Thank you for your consideration in this matter,
Nanette Nickerson
index
previous comment
next comment