[Blindtlk] Walking on city streets with no sidewalks

[Mike Freeman]

I either ignore the do-gooders or I ask them if they want their taxes raised to pay for more sidewalks.

Mike Freeman


> On Sep 26, 2015, at 16:09, Arielle Silverman via blindtlk <blindtlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi all. Just wanted to pick your brains regarding tips for traveling
> effectively and staying oriented on streets that have no or
> inconsistent sidewalks. There are some streets in my city that have no
> sidewalk and are fairly quiet streets but they intersect a busy
> street. When I attended LCB I got some good practice shorelining
> gutters on the edge of the road or seams between the road and
> driveways. But here there are often seams that come and go, or
> intermittent gravel patches, or rows of parked cars that come and go,
> making it difficult for me to stay centered. Sometimes the parked cars
> also make echolocation difficult. How do you stay straight?
> Another related aggravation is that often do-gooders will freak out if
> I am walking in the street even though it's my only option given the
> lack of sidewalk. Especially if I veer a tiny bit away from the edge
> because of the lack of consistent landmarks, people will get really
> concerned and keep asking me if I need help or if I need a ride or
> admonishing me not to be in the street like I'm an errant
> three-year-old. Even when I know my way, it makes me feel
> uncomfortable about walking in the street because I feel like I'm
> bringing all this attention on me and distracting and upsetting others
> around me. How do you handle such reactions? These are quiet streets,
> so I don't believe I am actually in danger (and if I hear a car coming
> I always get as far to the side as I can), but because it's hard for
> me to keep a straight line, sighted people don't know how to deal with
> me. What are your thoughts about this?
> One example: A bus stop I sometimes use is on a tiny patch of sidewalk
> with grass on one side and a fenced driveway on the other. When I
> cross the street to get to the stop, it's easy for me to miss the
> small sidewalk patch and I have to walk up and down the block a little
> bit (without sidewalk) to find it. I can usually find it fairly
> quickly, but one time as I was looking for the stop, several people
> stopped their cars or got out of their cars trying to help me find the
> stop (and some not even knowing there was a bus stop there) just
> making everything a big mess. I ended up switching to a further-away
> bus stop on sidewalk to avoid that problem, but I have to walk through
> a sidewalk-less block to get there.
> So, how do you stay oriented, and how do you placate the do-gooders
> and keep them from becoming a distraction?
> 
> Best,
> Arielle
> 
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