[IL-Talk] FW: Justice Department Moves to Intervene in Disability Discrimination Suit Against City of Chicago Regarding Pedestrians with Visual Disabilities - U.S. DOJ - April 8, 2021

Sun Apr 11 00:37:09 UTC 2021

The private plaintiffs are Ray Campbell, Maureen Heneghan, and Ann
Brash, all ACB members. Ray is not a Chicago resident. The lawsuit was
started when the City of Chicago was unwilling to commit to providing
audible traffic signals to the extent San Francisco agreed to in a
private settlement. The government’s intervention seems to indicate it
will use the case to set a nationwide standard for the installation of
audible pedestrian signals in municipalities across America. It looks
like the Justice Department has fully absorbed the ACB philosophy and
its members diminished confidence in travel skills from the low
quality training the organization and its members endorse. The lawsuit
states some of the problems blind people face from a lack of audible
pedestrian signals are quote “Added delays and expenses not
experienced by sighted pedestrians, because individuals who are blind
may forgo travel by foot to avoid the danger of crossing signalized
intersections without APSs, and use a hired ride service for even
short distances..” end quote In other words, the government accepts
the notion from ACB members that blind people regularly and
consistently need to call a Uber to walk a couple of blocks and cross
a street.

Another issue the government says is brought on by the lack of
pedestrian signals is quote “Increased anxiety, frustration, and
embarrassment, and decreased independence, when attempting to navigate
the city’s signalized intersections.” End quote In other words, the
Biden Justice Department says blind people who do not cross streets
with audible signals are embarrassed to be blind. Further, the Justice
Department claims the increased anxiety brought on by poor travel
skills will magically go away with audible pedestrian signals. I am
not so sure APS will be the magic cure for the lack of blind
independence that ACB claims them to be and has convinced the federal
government of their belief.

The entire filing can be read in accessible format at:

https://www.ada.gov/acbmc/acbmc_motion.html

On 4/9/21, Chang, Patti via IL-Talk <il-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>
>
> FYI, this is not a lawsuit brought by NFB, but I am sure people on this
> list
> will want to have this update.
> Justice Department Moves to Intervene in Disability Discrimination Suit
> Against City of Chicago Regarding Pedestrians with Visual Disabilities
> Office of Public Affairs U.S. DOJ April 8, 2021
>
> The Justice Department today moved to intervene in a disability
> discrimination lawsuit that private plaintiffs with visual disabilities
> brought against the City of Chicago under the Americans with Disabilities
> Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504). The
> department's proposed complaint alleges that the city fails to provide
> people who are blind, have low vision, or are deaf-blind with equal access
> to pedestrian signal information at intersections. Pedestrian signal
> information, such as a flashing "Walk/Don't Walk" signal, indicates when it
> is safe to cross the street.
> Accessible pedestrian signals (APSs) are devices that provide pedestrians
> with safe-crossing information in a non-visual format, such as through
> audible tones, speech messages, and vibrotactile surfaces. Since at least
> 2006, Chicago has recognized the need to install APSs for pedestrians with
> visual disabilities. Yet, while Chicago currently provides sighted
> pedestrians visual crossing signals at nearly 2,700 intersections, it has
> installed APSs at only 15 of those intersections. The proposed suit alleges
> that the lack of APSs at over 99% of Chicago's signalized intersections
> subjects people who are blind, have low vision, or are deaf-blind to added
> risks and burdens not faced by sighted pedestrians, including fear of
> injury
> or death.
> "The ADA and Section 504 require that individuals with disabilities have
> equal access to public services, including access to pedestrian crossing
> information that is critical for safety and for full participation in
> community life," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Pamela S.
> Karlan of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "Chicago has
> determined that safe-crossing information is necessary for sighted
> pedestrians to navigate throughout the city, and this suit seeks to ensure
> that the city provides the same benefit to people with visual
> disabilities."
> "The U.S. Attorney's Office is taking this action to ensure that Chicagoans
> with disabilities are provided equal access to city services, particularly
> those services whose purpose is public safety," said U.S. Attorney John R.
> Lausch Jr. for the Northern District of Illinois. "We are concerned about
> the serious lack of accessibility to safe intersection crossings for
> Chicagoans who are blind, have low vision, or are deaf-blind, and we are
> confident that our involvement in this important case will ultimately bring
> a meaningful resolution to the city and its millions of residents, daily
> commuters, and visitors."
> The motion and complaint seeking intervention were jointly filed by the
> Disability Rights Section of the department's Civil Rights Division and the
> U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois. The case is
> being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick Johnson and Sarah J.
> North, and Trial Attorney Matthew Faiella. To read the motion to intervene,
> please click here:
> https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/eTdSC2k16yIYynXU1nMOI?domain=ada.gov.
> For more information on the Civil Rights Division, please visit
> https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/ZM5jC31K7zskNLli2xpV-?domain=justice.gov<h
> ttps://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/_7hMC4xYgATVkLOUW8Vmx?domain=justice.gov>.
> For more information on the ADA, please call the department's toll-free ADA
> Information Line at 800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or visit
> https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/Wp2AC5y1jBUJNq7fxs-by?domain=ada.gov<https
> ://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/ILHDC68zkDsNwQviLVyIm?domain=ada.gov>.
> Members
> of the public may report possible civil rights violations at
> https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/xi62C73WlECg73KC0F31n?domain=civilrights.j
> ustice.gov.
>
>
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