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

Fri Nov 25 07:49:20 UTC 2016

Aloha, My Federation Ohana:

I am surprised by the responses I’m reading here. I feel like a lot of folks seem to feel the need to justify their own use of audible crossing signals. When we are having policy discussions, it is important to remember that we are talking about the governmental decisions about certain programs and resources; if we criticize a program or resource, we are not criticizing the people who choose to use it. If we advocate for the end of subminimum wages, we are not criticizing the people who choose to work for subminimum wages; we are saying that those people deserve better. When an orientation and mobility instructor, like me, abides by professional standards of safety with street crossing techniques, it is not a criticism of the individuals who choose to use them.

We are currently lacking two things: proper mobility instruction and audible traffic signals at every lighted intersection. As an organization, we can choose to advocate for both, either one, or neither. Because the conversation is occurring, it is obvious that we are not interested in sitting out completely. Since the two contradict each other, advocating for both of them seems a bit inefficient. Thus, we are left with the decision of which one we want.

Safety is my first concern because none of the rest of the discussion matters to a dead blind person. There are two primary safety concerns. First of all, not all cars obey the traffic lights. A blind traveler can react to the change in the light, but this does not necessarily mean that the cars are all acting according to the light. If drivers did not run red lights, then we would not have the common expression that I just used, “to run red lights.” Someone reacting to the light change is vulnerable to cars that do not obey the light cycle, and that is a risk. I suppose there is also even potential for the audible signal to malfunction, and my life is just too precious to risk with that. Second, the sound of the audible crossing signal interferes with a person’s ability to hear the traffic sounds which they should be using to make their crossing. It is harder to hear the traffic sounds when anything else is competing for the air waves. This reduces safety when crossing.

There are a lot of well-meaning people who do not know the things I just mentioned and who maybe do not know how blind people travel safely and independently who might expect blind people to use the audible crossing signals to cross streets. This is dangerous. If there is no audible signal, then it will be more apparent that the blind traveler is to use something else, thus continuing the problem-solving process. If the problem-solving process is aborted because of the presence of an audible crossing signal, then the choice of street crossing technique will likely be one of compromised safety.

I really appreciate Nathanael’s mentioning of where the money is going. In the National Federation of the Blind, we have to choose what our priorities are and where we ask society to spend money accommodating us. One such way is with the provision of orientation and mobility services to help us adapt to a system built around the needs of the sighted. Another means could be the provision of more audible crossing signals. The installation of these signals costs money, and there are a lot of lighted intersections in Connecticut. If our state spent that money there instead of on orientation and mobility services, then one mobility task would be addressed, and it would be addressed with compromised safety. If the state chose to spend money on orientation and mobility services, then blind people could become better travelers in any situation and not need audible crossing signals.

As an organization, we can make the choice to advocate for better orientation and mobility services so that blind people can travel more safely, confidently, and independently in any situation. This would communicate a raised set of expectations for blind people, set more blind people free, and give the State of Connecticut a bigger bang for its buck. We could also choose to request that the state and local municipalities install audible crossing signals, perpetuating a lower set of expectations and anchoring ourselves to a method of street crossing which compromises our safety.

The choice is ours. May we choose wisely.

Yours,

Justin M. Salisbury, MA, NOMC, NCRTB, NCUEB
Opportunity Ambassador
National Federation of the Blind
Email: President at Alumni.ECU.edu<mailto: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: CT-NFB [mailto:ct-nfb-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Mary Silverberg via CT-NFB
Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2016 8:31 AM
To: NFB of Connecticut Mailing List <ct-nfb at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Mary Silverberg <marysilverfox at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Ct-nfb] [Ctabs] December Meeting of the Waterbury Area Chapter

Esther,
Well stated. Yes, each of us uses a variety of coping mechanisms to deal with life's challenges. There should be room for all of them. Life is about choice and having options.
Mary

On Wed, Nov 23, 2016 at 10:51 AM, Esther Levegnale via CT-NFB <ct-nfb at nfbnet.org<mailto:ct-nfb at nfbnet.org>> wrote:
Hi, All!

I would like to weigh in on the topic of audible signals.

I honestly felt they were a huge help to me, especially in an unfamiliar city where I wasn't sure how wide the street crossings were.  Also, at times I'm sure many of us have a tendency to veer a little bit and when the signal on the other side of a street is beeping, it helps to keep us on a straight path.

I think we need to have an open mind about this issue as many blind people don't have the dexterity it might take to cross a street and therefore, we can't use a boiler-plate type of attitude toward what blind people are capable or not capable of doing.  We, as with sighted people, have different ways to cope with situations and I know that the NFB frowns on audible signals and when the domes were placed on the edges of train platforms were an issue many years ago, the organization fought against them.  When I travel on trains, I find the domes most helpful, even though my cane skills are very good.

Anyway, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.  I certainly don't mean to demean anyone for their opinions, but I'm just stating mine.  ☺️  Thanks and I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

Esther

Sent From Esther's Amazing and Awesome iPhone 7+!

On Nov 21, 2016, at 7:20 PM, Mary Silverberg via CT-NFB <ct-nfb at nfbnet.org<mailto: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<mailto: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<tel:203-272-3278>

From: CT-NFB [mailto:ct-nfb-bounces at nfbnet.org<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<mailto: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<mailto: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<mailto:ct-nfb at nfbnet.org>>; CTABS List serv <ctabs at nfbnet.org<mailto:ctabs at nfbnet.org>>
Cc: llee at nfbct.org<mailto: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<tel:203-578-6471>, or call our community outreach office at 860-289-1971<tel:860-289-1971>.

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