[blindlaw] comments needed regarding policyforaudiblepedestriansignals

[Mark BurningHawk]

I don't know if my comments below are germane, but here's what I have  
experienced:
I have never encountered audible crosswalk signals until I came to  
California, about five years ago.  For the previous thirty something  
years, I crossed streets without such.  Because of my hearing loss, I  
am not averse to the added information such signals give, but I feel  
they may hinder more than they harm .  If a blind person becomes  
dependent upon the beeps to know when to cross a street, instead of  
using real skills to cross the street, the potential for dependent  
behavior and dangerous outcomes is considerably high.  Also, it has  
been my experience--sometimes almost scary experience--that the  
audible portion of the signal is not always accurate; a "north-south  
beep," might in fact signal permission to walk crossing an east-west  
street, if that makes any sense.  The upshot is that the beep you  
think means walk will sometimes mean don't walk, and so any  
reassurance provided by the extra information is not all that  
reassuring.  Also, with the advent of left turn only cycles, a  
crosswalk may in fact give false information.  I'm not sure that these  
devices are at a stage where we should be pushing whole-heartedly for  
them, but I also see their use in a limited capacity.