[nabs-l] FW: silent signals

[Sarah alawami]

I think this author is making  a big deal out of nothing. Can't we just
listen to trafic paterns?
 
 Silent signals, hazardous crossings

Advocates urge city to add, fix devices that aid the blind



By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff  |  August 17, 2009



Yakir Arbib is blind. He is also a promising young pianist who daily 
negotiates the Green Line and busy urban streets on his way to study at
the 
Berklee College of Music. None of it daunts him, except the congested 
crossroads at Massachusetts Avenue and Boylston Street.



The chirping of an audible crossing signal is supposed to alert him and 
other visually impaired pedestrians when it is safe to cross the 
traffic-choked street, but for several weeks the signal hasn't worked.



"I wait for some nice person, or I take a chance,'' the Israeli native
said. 
"I don't know how I'm going to get around having to cross that street. I

think I'll have to find a different way.''



Just blocks away, at Fairfield Street and Commonwealth Avenue, another 
audible signal for the blind was not functioning properly. Advocates for
the 
blind say that at any given time, a significant number of Boston's 40 
audible intersections work poorly or not at all, and they accuse the
city of 
making maintenance a low priority.



Further, they say, Boston has lagged other major cities in making its 
streets more navigable for the visually impaired, noting that it has
failed 
to heed federal recommendations that urge cities to install audible 
crosswalk signals at new or upgraded intersections. Most glaring, they
say, 
is that more than 100 intersections created as part of the Big Dig lack
the 
devices.



"In terms of accessibility, Boston is behind the eight ball,'' said Bob 
Hachey, president of Bay State Council of the Blind. "It has not done
itself 
proud.  It's been like getting blood from a stone.''



City officials say they install new signals almost exclusively based on 
requests from individuals and the state Commission for the Blind, which
also 
fields complaints and requests. They said they are doing their best to
keep 
signals working properly but would be able to address problems quicker
if 
pedestrians notify officials.



"I can see why it would be incredibly frustrating to pedestrians who
rely on 
them,'' said Jim Gillooly, deputy commissioner of the Boston
Transportation 
Department, which is responsible for installation and maintenance. "We 
really rely on people who use these signals to let us know if they
aren't 
working.  If we know about them, we'll get them fixed.''



Gillooly said his office has not received many complaints about faulty 
signals, adding that people should report problems for quicker results.



But advocates say the audible signals are often on the blink for weeks,
in 
Boston as well as neighboring communities, making some of the area's
busiest 
intersections feel like a roll of the dice.



"We all have crossings that we call 'pray and go,' '' said Pauline
Downing, 
a Somerville resident who is blind. She is the former president of Guide
Dog 
Users of Massachusetts.



Hachey, of the Bay State Council of the Blind, with a German shepherd as
his 
guide, visited the Massachusetts Avenue/Boylston Street intersection one
day 
last week to document problems. When working properly, the chirping
signal 
is supposed to sound for pedestrians walking in either direction in all
four 
crosswalks - a total of eight audible signals - but as Hachey tested
them, 
five failed to activate. A separate audible cue at the intersection, 
designed to help blind people locate the walk buttons, was drowned out
by 
heavy morning traffic.



"That's useless,'' he said. "It's far too low given the ambient noise.''



He spoke into a recorder to remind himself to notify the state
Commission 
for the Blind about the problem.



"Absolutely no audible signal,'' he said.



To many who are visually impaired, signals that don't work are an added 
irritation to their complaint that the city has been slow to install
more 
audible signals. Some have asserted the city is bound by the Americans
with 
Disabilities Act to put in signals at new and upgraded intersections,
such 
as those created by the Big Dig. But Boston transportation officials say

they are not legally obligated by the act and note that the systems can
cost 
more than $10,000.



Jessie Lorenz, director of public policy for San Francisco's LightHouse
for 
the Blind and Visually Impaired, which two years ago successfully
lobbied 
the city to install accessible signals at some 80 intersections, said
that 
while the question has not come before a court, federal transportation 
officials are recommending that new road projects include accessible 
signals, and local leaders are beginning to take note.



Not all advocates for the blind press for more signals, and some even 
suggest it's unreasonable to expect audible signals at every
intersection, 
saying vision-impaired pedestrians should not become reliant on them.



"We have not tended to endorse audible traffic signals,'' said Chris 
Danielsen, spokesman for the National Federation of the Blind. "We
believe a 
blind person should learn cane-travel techniques, and part of that is 
learning to hear the traffic patterns.''



The relative scarcity of the devices, Danielsen said, and the risk of 
malfunction demonstrate their limits.



But complicating that view is the growing prevalence of quiet cars, 
especially hybrids, which can have virtually no engine noise at slow
speeds. 
Some say they pose safety risks for those relying on senses other than 
sight. The federation is lobbying for federal legislation mandating cars

meet certain decibel requirements.



"Vehicles should emit a minimum level of sound so that all pedestrians
are 
safe,'' Danielsen said. "Blind people need to hear the sound to
determine 
speed and direction of the traffic.''



But other visually impaired people say audible signals are the key, and
that 
cities like Boston need to make a priority of installing new ones and 
keeping them working.



"You get excited initially when there's a new one. They give you peace
of 
mind,'' said Tim Cumings, a Brighton resident who is blind. "But then
they 
don't work from one day to the next.''



C Copyright

 2009 The New York Times Company



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