[il-talk] Bells for Blind on Chicago Transit

Fri Nov 2 16:57:55 UTC 2012

I agree. If you don't have those basic skills and those bells are working,
you're out of luck. 

Connie 

-----Original Message-----
From: il-talk [mailto:il-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Rob
Sent: Friday, November 02, 2012 11:44 AM
To: NFB of Illinois Mailing List
Subject: Re: [il-talk] Bells for Blind on Chicago Transit

We don't need more bell sounds just better mobility training for blind.

-----Original Message-----
From: Kelly Pierce
Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2012 10:46 PM
To: NFB of Illinois Mailing List
Subject: [il-talk] Bells for Blind on Chicago Transit

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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