[il-talk] Bells for Blind on Chicago Transit

[Kelly Pierce]

No I haven't Patti.  That is an excellent suggestion.  I just sent
jemal an e-mail from my primary e-mail account with my phone number.
I look forward to making contact and discussing this in more detail
with him.

Kelly



On 11/2/12, Patti Chang <pattichang at att.net> wrote:
> Have you spoken with the chair of our transportation committee, Jemal
> Powell?
>
> p.s. give to our annual appeal by sending to NFBI c/o glenn Moore po box
> 1065 Elgin, IL 60121.
>
> Patti S. Gregory-Chang
> NFBI President
> NFB, Scholarship Committee Chair
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Nov 1, 2012, at 10:46 PM, Kelly Pierce <kellytalk at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Below is a news release from the Chicago Transit Authority.  It
>> describes a new bell for the blind to signal when doors are opening on
>> the newfangled CTA rail cars.  I have spoken with Steve hastalis about
>> this recently.  Steve is a member of the NFB and serves on the CTA ADA
>> advisory committee.  Steve said it stemmed from a single concern from
>> ADA advisory committee member Greg Polman of the Chicago Lighthouse.
>> Greg uses a guide dog and does not travel with a white cane.  The
>> committee has two other members with vision impairments. Neither
>> committee chair Amy Serpe, who represents the Chicago Public Schools,
>> nor Doreen bogus, who represents the City of Chicago, use a travel
>> aide of any kind, including a white cane.  Although Steve raised
>> objections, he said these other members with visual impairments who do
>> not use white canes encouraged other committee members to quickly
>> approve the proposal without research or investigation.  Steve said
>> that CTA representatives have not met with NFB members to solicit
>> feedback about this service enhancement or take a ride on the system.
>> Steve does not believe that any outreach has occurred to the ACB
>> Chicago chapter either.  I am outraged and offended that such a
>> substantial change is taking place without significant involvement
>> from the blind community.  It is not required by the Americans with
>> Disabilities Act. Audible door closing signals are required by the
>> ADA. Debbie Stein and Steve have been extensively involved in
>> transportation issues.  Karyn Campbell along with her husband Ray of
>> the ACB have been active in transportation access issues for many
>> years.  Both the ACB and NFB have been active in Chicago for decades.
>>
>> I would like to discuss this with other NFB members at an upcoming
>> Chicago chapter meeting.  I have ridden on these rail cars with their
>> quiet ride and gentle braking and acceleration. I never felt that door
>> opening was undetectable to a blind person, particularly when a white
>> cane was used to touch the doors.  Additional sound could be
>> distracting and disruptive rather than helpful.  Further, Steve said
>> the blind bell for door opening will have the same sound as the chimes
>> for door closing.  There will be no spoken announcement that doors are
>> opening, as occurs on the Metro system in Washington, DC.  The blind
>> bell seems intrusive and unneeded at worst and confusing and
>> ill-designed at best.  I feel powerless and believe government is
>> turning away from the real supports for independent blind people.  I
>> look forward to working with other NFB folks on this.
>>
>> Kelly
>>
>>
>>
>> CTA Adds Additional Door Chime Feature to Newest Rail Cars to Assist
>> Passengers
>>
>>
>> 10/11/2012
>>
>>
>> The Chicago Transit Board today approved an important upgrade to its
>> newest 5000 series rail cars that will benefit visually impaired
>> customers. Chimes will be added to let passengers know when doors are
>> opening, in addition to the chimes that now play when doors are
>> closing. The CTA decided to provide the additional audio cues to
>> assist passengers after receiving feedback from customers who
>> indicated they had trouble locating train car doors from the platform.
>>
>> “This issue was brought to our attention because the new and improved
>> rail cars were so quiet, some visually impaired customers had
>> difficulty hearing the doors opening,” said CTA President Forrest
>> Claypool. “The valuable feedback led us to seek the door chime
>> modification to ensure the new ADA features we’re providing on the
>> 5000 series work in the best possible way for our customers.”
>>
>> The modification requires a software change that will be made to the
>> entire purchase order of 706 rail cars. All new cars currently in
>> Chicago will undergo a retro-fit, which will not impact operations.
>>
>> The change order for the door chimes are at no additional cost to the CTA.
>> Bombardier Transportation, a recognized leader in the manufacturing of
>> mass transit vehicles, provides the 5000 series cars. To date, 126
>> cars have been delivered and are currently deployed on the Green and
>> Pink Lines
>>
>> The total cost of the rail cars $1.137 billion, which is funded by two
>> CTA bond issuances backed by sales tax receipts. The remainder is paid
>> for by $150 million in federal funds.
>>
>> # # #
>>
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