[Colorado-Talk] Contact7 getting results: Belmar crosswalk signals causing problems

[Dan Burke]

It is interesting that Julie Reiskin at CCDC passed contact info on to
the reporter for Brent and me, but we didn't hear from her on
Thursday. Well, sometimes deadlines loom.

Turning the volume of the signal up will solve some problems, but
create others. It's an interesting problem saying that the audible
signal can't be heard because the traffic is too loud. I'd love to
look at this crossing, but I also want to acknowledge that Wadsworth
and Alameda is probably a huge intersection. I'll bet it is a very
long way across Wadsworth, for sure, A quarter of a mile maybe
(smile). I wouldn't be at all surprised that the signal is too short
in duration.

I like the signals in some places that beep on the post right next to
me, indicating that the light has turned green. Is this the kind of
signal it is? I hold to the long-standing notion that if the signal is
too loud, it will make it harder to hear the traffic and thus use it
as a guide as I cross. Parallel traffic, that is.  And the really loud
signals like they used to have in Greeley, as Melissa noted, made it
hard to hear anything else. That creates an unsafe situation, because
I want to check the sound of traffic to make sure someone isn't
running the red light or about to turn right directly into me after my
first step into the crosswalk. If the signal is turned up too loud, I
won't be able to do that. I'm especially aware of this as we've just
gone through the darkest period of the year. Julie and I cross at a
fair-sized intersection after work, and right-turners often come
flying around the corner willy-nily in the dark. And with parallel
traffic on South Broadway, it is really loud already, so it's
difficult to hear those right-turners sometimes and the north-bound
traffic surges forward.

BTW, that crosswalk is badly cratered resulting from all the F-bombs
dropping on it.

And those loud bird signals? Well, why in the world would any blind
person trust a signal that is chirping "Cuckoo! Cuckoo!?"

Sandy mentioned a pedestrian crossing in the middle of the street with
a pedestrian-activated light. Another good place for an audible
signal. But again, I wouldn't want it to be too loud because hearing
the car that is not paying attention could save my life. The signal
can tell me when the light has changed, not when it is safe to cross.
Not when someone is talking on their phone or worse, and just not
expecting to have to stop in the middle of the street. s because a red
light for cross traffic and a painted crosswalk do not put a
force-field in place. In the end, I need to make the decision when I
will cross and I use my ears for that.

What the NFB proposed decades ago were vibro-tactile signals. I've
seen only a couple of these.  Below the button an arrow pointing
across the street pops up. This would work in loud situations too, but
it's purpose is to assist people who are deaf-blind to know when the
signal has changed.

Back to the story, it says that the audible signals automatically with
the ambient noise levels. If that is really true, I'm not sure how
much louder it would have to be. And is it sounding from across the
street or next to the pedestrian?

Dan




On 1/20/20, Melissa R Green via Colorado-Talk <colorado-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> I like the new signals that they have here in Greeley. They talk and they
> count down as well. Not just the birdy sound. That would echo off
> everything.
>
> I remember when like guide dogs, many were against Audible signals.  Its
> another tool in my toolbox.
>
>
>
>
>
> Melissa R. Green and Pj
>
>
>
> From: Colorado-Talk <colorado-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of sandy
> schleich via Colorado-Talk
> Sent: Monday, January 20, 2020 1:57 PM
> To: NFB of Colorado Discussion List <colorado-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: sandy schleich <saschleich7 at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Colorado-Talk] Contact7 getting results: Belmar crosswalk
> signals causing problems
>
>
>
> Audible signals at intersections are nice but when I had my Owen M
> instruction we did not have audible signals at intersections so I am used to
> not using them. Yes they are nice to have in places where the traffic is
> hard to gauge by sound and I would rather prefer to have them in those
> areas, but if they are not there it doesn’t mean that I won’t try to cross
> that street it just means I have to be more cautious. even if the
> intersection has an audible signal they’re not often loud enough to even
> hear over the traffic, so I think that defeats the purpose of them in the
> first place. The ones that I like the best are the ones that tell you what
> street the sign is green for. For example, when I go to Cross pueblo
> boulevard and Lehigh, the signal will tell me which walk sign is on for
> which street. Not that I can’t figure that out on my own but it is
> definitely nice for it to tell me. There is also a left turn there and
> people can turn on the green, and if I’m just crossing using the sounds of
> the traffic sometimes people are only turning left and not going straight
> and I’m going to get run over.
>
>
>
> On Mon, Jan 20, 2020 at 8:46 AM Curtis Chong via Colorado-Talk
> <colorado-talk at nfbnet.org <mailto:colorado-talk at nfbnet.org> > wrote:
>
> Greetings:
>
>
>
> I am not really conflicted about this. Yes, I do agree that if an audible
> signal is present, it should be audible even if the traffic volume is very
> loud. But I disagree that these are necessary for every intersection in the
> city. It sounds like the person complaining about this doesn't feel
> comfortable crossing streets at intersections where there is no audible
> traffic signal. This is a problem because it means that his ability to
> travel anywhere is severely limited since audible signals are definitely in
> the minority.
>
>
>
> Cordially,
>
>
>
> Curtis Chong
>
>
>
> From: Colorado-Talk <colorado-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org
> <mailto:colorado-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> > On Behalf Of Gary Van Dorn via
> Colorado-Talk
> Sent: Saturday, January 18, 2020 6:06 PM
> To: Dan Burke via Colorado-Talk <colorado-talk at nfbnet.org
> <mailto:colorado-talk at nfbnet.org> >
> Cc: Gary Van Dorn <garyvdrn at msn.com <mailto:garyvdrn at msn.com> >
> Subject: [Colorado-Talk] Contact7 getting results: Belmar crosswalk signals
> causing problems
>
>
>
> I have very mixed emotions concerning this story
> <https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/contact7/contact7-getting-results-belmar-crosswalk-signals-causing-problems>
> .  What do you think?
>
>
>
> Gary Van Dorn
>
> Treasurer, Mile High NFBCO
>
> Chair, Mile High NFBCO Transportation Committee
> Board Member, NFBCO
> Treasurer, NFBCO Sports & Recreation Division
>
> President, NFB Public Employees Division
>
>
>
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>


-- 
Dan Burke

National Federation of the Blind of Colorado Legislative Coordinator

President, NFB of Denver

"Blindness is not what holds you back.  You can live the life you want!"

My Cell:  406.546.8546
Twitter:  @DallDonal