[Blindtlk] Walking on city streets with no sidewalks

[Jim Portillo]

And how far does that question get you? <smile>


-----Original Message-----
From: blindtlk [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Mike
Freeman via blindtlk
Sent: Sunday, September 27, 2015 8:18 AM
To: Blind Talk Mailing List
Cc: Mike Freeman
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Walking on city streets with no sidewalks

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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