[Ct-nfb] [Ctabs] December Meeting of the Waterbury Area Chapter

Tue Nov 22 03:58:59 UTC 2016

Gary,

I am heartened to see our Waterbury Chapter growing and so quickly advocating with their local elected officials.  It’s an example to us, and I hope we can do everything we can to stand with them and offer them the sort of training in advocacy that you, Justin, Jim, I, and so many others on this list have been so fortunate to have had.  If there is something I can do, please let me know.  Though my professional career has been almost exclusively in water resources—dams and river flow, water quality, and flood and erosion damage management—I did take a couple of elective classes in college (more years ago than I may be cool admitting) in traffic design and the sort of planning that city officials may be doing.  After college and for a few years afterwards I served as the NFB chapter president in Sacramento, California, and our chapter advocated on this and similar issues with a fairly practical, balanced, and reasonable philosophy (well, I’d like to think).

I’d point out to all of us on a broader note, whether we live in central Connecticut, New Haven as Jim does, Fairfield as I do with a couple of seemingly strategically-placed accessible traffic signals (like along the Post Road at an intersection with a very small cross street), or Hartford that we’d also ought to think about having a say with our elected officials to change the fact that “…people in their 60s 70s and 80s. Those people often don't get mobility training.”  It is unconscionable that BESB is not replacing its retiring O&M instructor and now has only two for the entire state, likely because of a lack of state funding.  How much more effective could tax dollars be spent if they were redirected from audible traffic signals to proper cane travel training, such as hiring a good O&M instructor?  Ah, redirecting tax dollars from transportation to BESB would make a bureaucrat’s head explode.  But, hey, that could be amusing; blowing up the system seems to be in style…  In all seriousness, we really do need to advocate that adult services at BESB, including O&M, be given full resources and funded properly and BESB not be complacent and blame the big bad, well really bad, state budget; it truly is, I think, a critical legislative priority on which we should all be advocating.

My best wishes to our new colleagues in Waterbury.  Again, if I may be of assistance I’d be glad to do what I can.

Nathanael Wales, Treasurer

National Federation of the Blind of Connecticut

From: CT-NFB [mailto:ct-nfb-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Gary Allen via CT-NFB
Sent: Monday, November 21, 2016 8:28 PM
To: NFB of Connecticut Mailing List
Cc: Gary Allen
Subject: Re: [Ct-nfb] [Ctabs] December Meeting of the Waterbury Area Chapter

I see your point of view Justin when teaching people to cross the street audible signals can be a hindrance. The majority of blind and low vision people are people in their 60s 70s and 80s. Those people often don't get mobility training. It is important to have audible crosswalks to allow those people to cross the street safely. Blind people are not the only ones that benefit from audible crosswalks. Children people with other disabilities, and People who are texting and walking or talking on the phone also benefit from Audibles crosswalks.

Gary Allen. 

So it is not just the blind that benefit from audible crosswalks.

On Mon, Nov 21, 2016 at 8:00 PM Jim McCollum via CT-NFB <ct-nfb at nfbnet.org> wrote:

Hello. 

We have some audible traffic signals in the New Haven area, but not very many. I use them when I can, but when I can't, I rely on the mobility skills I learned in 1983. I'm not against audible signals, but it is essential, in my opinion, to know how to travel safely without them. 

Jim McCollum

Legislative Co-ordinator

National Federation of the Blind of Connecticut

j.mccollum64 at comcast.net

860-581-0430

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 21, 2016, at 7:20 PM, Mary Silverberg via CT-NFB <ct-nfb at nfbnet.org> wrote:

All,

As a partially sighted person, I rely on audible signals when crossing complex intersections. I do not view this as a crutch to dependancy. When  the Town of West Hartford began the installation of these signals when replacing older equipment, several of us with a variety of disabilities went out with the Town engineers and the installers to  optimize the volume with time of day and  length of time to cross. I welcome these signals in every larger city in which  I must navigate.

Mary Silverberg 

On Mon, Nov 21, 2016 at 6:07 PM, bob morrissey via CT-NFB <ct-nfb at nfbnet.org> wrote:

Hey Justin,

Why do you feel so opposed to audible cross walks?   Is it a dependency issue when the function is not working?

As a partially sighted person, I find an audible signal very helpful when crossing a busy intersection.

But, I'm open minded and willing to hear your thoughts.

Thanks.

Bob Morrissey

203-272-3278

From: CT-NFB [mailto:ct-nfb-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Justin Salisbury via CT-NFB
Sent: Monday, November 21, 2016 4:42 PM
To: Connecticut Association of Blind Students
Cc: Justin Salisbury; 'ct-nfb at nfbnet.org'
Subject: Re: [Ct-nfb] [Ctabs] December Meeting of the Waterbury Area Chapter

Hi Lucia,

Thanks for sending this out! I’m so glad to see that our Waterbury Chapter is already speaking out against the custodialism that yields audible crosswalk signals. If we didn’t have the Waterbury Chapter working on this, Waterbury could become as bad as Honolulu, with audible crosswalk signals almost everywhere. It really gets in the way of teaching my students how to cross streets safely. I’m working on a research article for the orientation and mobility profession on exactly why the implementation of audible crosswalk signals are bad for blind people. It’s too bad that I haven’t published it already because it could be great support for the Chapter’s argument. 

Good luck, and please let me know how I can help!

Justin

Justin M. Salisbury, MA, NOMC, NCRTB, NCUEB

Opportunity Ambassador

National Federation of the Blind

Email: President at Alumni.ECU.edu

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury  

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” 

William Butler Yeats

From: Ctabs [mailto:ctabs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of llee--- via Ctabs
Sent: Monday, November 21, 2016 10:40 AM
To: NFB of CT list serve <ct-nfb at nfbnet.org>; CTABS List serv <ctabs at nfbnet.org>
Cc: llee at nfbct.org
Subject: [Ctabs] December Meeting of the Waterbury Area Chapter

Help Us Build Our Future

Attend Meetings of Our New Waterbury Chapter!

The National Federation of the Blind of Connecticut (NFB of CT) invites you to join our new Waterbury Chapter. We hold our meetings at the Silas Bronson Library, 267 Grand Street, on the Second Saturday of each month.

On December 10th, our meeting will concern audible crosswalk signals in the City of Waterbury. Our State Representative Gerry Reyes, several Aldermen and a City Engineer will attend our meeting to discuss this issue. Plan to attend this important meeting!

To learn that you are greater than what most sighted people believe they see, meet us at the Silas Bronson Library on Saturday December 10th from noon to 2:00 PM. 

For further questions, please contact Josefina Martinez at 203-578-6471, or call our community outreach office at 860-289-1971.

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