<div dir="ltr">Greetings Chapter members and friends,<div>Please read below for some exciting news from Jordyn Castor. I sent this out a while ago, but my Outlook did not pass it along, so there are even more improvements than she listed here.</div><div>It's time to go to the city Council to extend our gratitude and encourage even more improvements and great partnership.</div><div><br></div><div>At your service,<br><br>Maryann Migliorelli\u2014President <br>National Federation of the Blind Boulder Valley Chapter<br>Office: 303-499-9125<br>Cell <a href="mailto:720-284-2318maryannmigs@gmail.com">720-284-2318maryannmigs@gmail.com</a><br><br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">---------- Forwarded message ---------<br>From: <strong class="gmail_sendername" dir="auto">Jordyn Castor</strong> <span dir="auto"><<a href="mailto:jordyn2493@gmail.com">jordyn2493@gmail.com</a>></span><br>Date: Tue, Jun 23, 2026 at 12:53\u202fAM<br>Subject: NFB Boulder Valley: Exciting APS Intersection Advocacy Project updates<br>To: Maryann Migliorelli <<a href="mailto:maryannmigs@gmail.com">maryannmigs@gmail.com</a>><br>Cc: Judy Dixon <<a href="mailto:judydixon@comcast.net">judydixon@comcast.net</a>>, Jim Wolcott <<a href="mailto:jimwolcott8@gmail.com">jimwolcott8@gmail.com</a>>, Heather Pauze <<a href="mailto:heathersg123@gmail.com">heathersg123@gmail.com</a>>, Gerry Leary <<a href="mailto:lgerry51@gmail.com">lgerry51@gmail.com</a>>, Libbi Lovejoy <<a href="mailto:libbislens@gmail.com">libbislens@gmail.com</a>>, Andrea Brandies <<a href="mailto:brandandr@aol.com">brandandr@aol.com</a>>, Bette Barford <<a href="mailto:bettebarford@gmail.com">bettebarford@gmail.com</a>><br></div><br><br><div style="line-break:after-white-space">Hey there intersection APS advocate enthusiasts!!!!<div><br></div><div>Our project is making significant headway with the P1 intersections we submitted to the City of Boulder 11/19/2024. We are small but mighty and I am so very very proud of us for continuing to see this through!</div><div><br></div><div>I\u2019d love intersection verification of the following and whether or not the intersections have two APS buttons on one pole, or separate pole configurations, where there is one pole per crossing, i.e. two APS poles per corner. For example, if I were crossing 30th and Arapahoe, there would be one pole with an APS push button at the 30th crosswalk domes, and a second push button at the Arapahoe cross domes, separated by hopefully 10 feet or more.</div><div><br></div><div>Intersections:</div><div><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures"> - Broadway and Iris (North)</span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures"> - Broadway, Lashly, Hanover, and 41st (South)</span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures"> - Baseline and Broadway (South)</span></p>
<p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures"> - Table Mesa and Broadway (South)</span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures"><br></span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures">Here are the intersections I\u2019ve verified have been completed so far:</span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures"> Separate pole per crossing (6) \u2014 the preferred setup:</span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures"> - 28th and Arapahoe</span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures"> - 28th and Canyon</span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures"> - Walnut and 28th</span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures"> - Arapahoe and 30th</span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures"> - Arapahoe and 48th</span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures"> - Arapahoe and 38th</span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0);min-height:13px"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures"> </span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures"> One pole per corner (4):</span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures"> - 30th and Canyon</span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures"> - Walnut and 30th</span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures"> - 14th and Canyon</span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures"> - 15th and Canyon</span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures"><br></span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures">I\u2019m also attaching the APS request form from the city, so we can fill it out for new intersections as we come across them. I\u2019ve requested info on how the NFB as a collective group can update our spreadsheet The city has on file, too.</span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures"><br></span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures">I also sent a letter to the city requesting that the one pole per crossing be the preferred configuration used for APS installations moving forward, and I\u2019ll paste that letter below. I'd be extremely grateful if you are able to try out some of these intersections and send your preferences and gratitude to the city as well.</span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures"><br></span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures">Happy travels!!!!</span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures"><br></span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures">Jordyn</span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures"></span></p></div></div><div style="line-break:after-white-space"><div><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures"></span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures"><br></span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures"><br></span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures">My Letter:</span></p><p style="margin:0px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-size:11px;line-height:normal;font-family:Menlo;font-size-adjust:none;font-kerning:auto;font-variant-alternates:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;font-feature-settings:normal;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="font-variant-ligatures:no-common-ligatures"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px">Hello,</span><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px">My name is Jordyn Castor, and I'm a blind pedestrian who relies on Boulder's Accessible Pedestrian Signals to get around the city safely and on my own. Before anything else, thank you for the APS work the city has already done. It has made a real difference in where I can go independently, and it has genuinely changed my life and deepened my love of Boulder.</span><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px">I'm writing about one design choice that matters a lot for how usable these signals are, and to ask the city to keep it in mind as the work continues.</span><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px">The choice is whether each crosswalk gets its own pole and pushbutton, or whether both crossings at a corner are combined onto a single pole. >From using these signals myself, separate poles per crossing are noticeably safer and easier for me to navigate.</span><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px">When the crossing I'm about to make has its own pole and button, I can press the button and then use that same spot to line up with the crosswalk and listen to traffic before the signal changes. With a shared pole, the button doesn't clearly belong to one crossing, so if the light changes before I'm aligned, I have to start over, re-orient myself, and find the right button again. By then I've usually lost the walk interval. A dedicated signal also lets me use its tone to find the crosswalk and to aim my line of travel as I actually cross, which makes the whole crossing more predictable, efficient, and safer to cross. And when both signals are on the same pole, their audible tones overlap and trample each other, so it's genuinely hard to tell which crossing has the walk signal, and which APS belongs to which crossing.</span><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px">On June 19th and 20th I went around and used a number of these signals, and the intersections with both signals combined on one pole were significantly harder to orient to and cross than the ones with separate poles per crossing.</span><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px">It also lines up with the federal standards, which actually treat separate poles as the rule and the combined setup as the exception. The Public Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG), whose final rule took effect in September 2023, state in section R307.4.1 that "where two pedestrian push buttons are provided on the same corner, they shall be 10 feet or more apart." It's a requirement, with an exception only where that separation is genuinely infeasible. The MUTCD works the same way: a normal walk tone is used where the two signals are at least 10 feet apart, and a spoken message is the fallback used only when installing them that far apart isn't technically possible. The research behind these rules (NCHRP 3-62, with support from the National Eye Institute) found that blind pedestrians identified the correct crosswalk fastest and most accurately when the two signals were on separate poles near the curb, at least 10 feet apart. That is exactly the difference I feel on the street.</span><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px">I have two requests. First, if it's possible, I'd love to see the corners that were already built with a single pole brought up to the separated configuration. Those include 30th and Canyon, Walnut and 30th, 14th and Canyon, and 15th and Canyon. Second, and just as important to me, I'm hoping the city will make separate poles per crossing (10 feet or more apart) the default for all future APS installations and upgrades, and only fall back to a combined pole at the specific locations where the separation truly isn't feasible. Several Boulder intersections are already built this way, including 28th and Arapahoe, 28th and Canyon, Arapahoe and 30th, and Arapahoe and 38th, so I know it's achievable here. I'd be glad to walk any of these with your staff to show the difference in person.</span><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px">Our chapter has put together a list of the intersections we think need this work, and I've attached it here for your reference. I haven't been able to walk all of them myself yet, so if you're able to share which ones the city has already completed, and how the poles were configured at each, it would help us keep our records accurate, and understand which intersections have been made accessible so far.</span><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px">Thank you again for your continued work to make Boulder accessible to everyone. I'm thrilled at the independence and freedom I am gaining to travel around the city now!</span><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px">Best,</span><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px">Jordyn Castor</span><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px">Accessibility Advocate, National Federation of the Blind, Boulder Valley Chapter</span><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><a href="mailto:jordyn2493@gmail.com" style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px" target="_blank">jordyn2493@gmail.com</a><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px">(616) 970-6002</span><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px">A couple of references, if useful:</span><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px">PROWAG technical requirements (R307.4.1): </span><a href="https://www.access-board.gov/prowag/technical.html" style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px" target="_blank">https://www.access-board.gov/prowag/technical.html</a><br style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px"><span style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px">PROWAG final rule, Federal Register (2023): </span><a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/08/08/2023-16149/accessibility-guidelines-for-pedestrian-facilities-in-the-public-right-of-way" style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px" target="_blank">https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/08/08/2023-16149/accessibility-guidelines-for-pedestrian-facilities-in-the-public-right-of-way</a></span></p></div></div></div></div></div>