[nabs-l] cleaning up the snow within bus stops
Chris Nusbaum
dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com
Fri Feb 3 00:55:14 UTC 2012
I'd say have them go with you, but make sure they're not trying
to grab your arm or anything like that; that way, you will have
somebody to go sighted guide with if you feel it's really
dangerous, and they'll realize that blind people can in fact
travel in the snow.
Chris
"The real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight. The
real problem is the misunderstanding and lack of education that
exists. If a blind person has the proper training and
opportunity, blindness can be reduced to a mere physical
nuisance."
-- Kenneth Jernigan
----- Original Message -----
From: "Humberto Avila" <avila.bert.humberto2 at gmail.com
To: "'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'"
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:53:22 -0800
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] cleaning up the snow within bus stops
Well the problem is, I suppose, the ice, which is very, very
slippery. And
no, I haven't tried it out yet because, like always, my parents
kept me from
doing it. They say that it is too dangerous and the ice is very
big, like it
covers most of the area and it is accumulate as to form some kind
of blocked
path, which, they think, they aren't even sure how sighted people
are
crossing that. I'm going to see how it goes tomorrow and whether
I can
convince them to let me try it.
-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org
[mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Arielle Silverman
Sent: Monday, January 30, 2012 7:25 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] cleaning up the snow within bus stops
Hi Humberto,
I totally understand your frustration with the snow and ice on
the
sidewalks and especially your discomfort about having your dad
drive
you to and from school. While I do hope that the sidewalks
eventually
get cleaned up, the good news is that you can walk safely to the
bus
stop and take the bus, assuming the buses are now running again
on the
streets. It will take a little practice to get the hang of
traveling
through snow, but it's entirely possible to do it safely and, in
fact,
many blind people walk around independently during winter
weather. I'm
not sure if you tried to walk to the bus stop already and had
trouble,
or if you haven't trried it yet because you are worried about
slipping
or getting turned around. If you haven't tried it yet I would
encourage you to at least give it a try. You might find it's
actually
a lot less frightening than it sounds. Here are a few tips:
-- If you haven't already, I would urge you to go out and get a
pair
of good snowboots. I think there are also things you can buy to
put
under the soles of your boots to give them more tread so they
slip
less on the ice.
-- I think you are a cane user. When you walk on the sidewalks,
use a
sliding motion with your cane. You will be able to feel in
advance
whether you are coming up on snow or ice because the ice will
feel
slippery under your cane. If you feel ice approaching, sweep
your cane
out a little bit to the sides to see if there's a clear path
around
it. You might be able to avoid some or all of the ice by walking
on
grass or gravel. It might be snowy, but it shouldn't be as
slippery as
the sidewalk.
-- Stepping on a pile of snow is inconvenient but it's usually
not
dangerous.
-- I have really bad balance and while I don't have much trouble
with
snow, I do find walking on ice makes me nervous. If I have to
walk
through a very slippery area and there's no way around it (i.e.
no
grass) I will get down on my hands and knees and crawl over the
most
slippery spot, then stand up and keep walking when the sidewalk
is
more clear. This isn't the most fun, but if I really feel like
I'm
going to fall it allows me to keep going without falling.
-- Also, if you happen to havve someone else walking by and you
don't
feel safe, I think it is fine to ask that person if you can hold
on to
their arm while you are crossing the icy patch. I do this
occasionally, again because I have bad balance, which isn't even
totally related to blindness. You shouldn't need to hold
someone's arm
for the whole walk-just the parts that are very slippery.
Again, I think if you try doing your normal bus route even
tomorrow,
you may discover it's not as difficult as you thought. I lived
my
whole life in Phoenix and never dealt with snow at all until I
moved
to Colorado in 2008. I expected it to be very hard to get around
but
the adjustment was much easier than I expected. If you have
tried
getting to the bus stop and had problems, and can tell us a
little
more about specifically what went wrong, I'm sure many of us on
the
list (including those with more snow experience than I, which is
most
of us) will have plenty of suggestions for ways to work through
those
problems so you can regain your independence without having to
bet on
the weather to warm up or the city to clean it up.
Best,
Arielle
On 1/30/12, Humberto Avila <avila.bert.humberto2 at gmail.com>
wrote:
Hello all,
I am running into a problem that has been bothering me to a
point where I
want to try out my advocacy skills, and I would like to share it
with you.
Well. here is the story. a couple of weeks ago a major winter
storm was
upon us here in Central Washington State, and it really affected
my city,
Yakima. We had a snowfall that left about up to 5 inches of
snow
throughout
the city, and the first two days that happened it went nonstop
for more
than
24 hours. this left people unable to go to work and school for
about two
days, and public as well as school routes for buses were reduced
or
limited
those days. this storm left me unable to ride the city bus to
and from
school, making my Dad take me to and from school for the rest of
next
week.
today that still continued; My dad still drove me to school and
back home.
While the roads and all highways are clean, many sidewalks
including
sidewalks where there are bus stops and benches are still soaked
into so
much snow and ice from two weeks ago. And you know what is
worse? the
people
or machines who clean the snow in the mornings or nights deposit
all that
snow there, leaving the piles and trails of snow into those very
places I
mentioned, especially at the bus stops. Now in fact, that snow
has turned
into ice, and the sidewalks with bus stops are even more
slippery and hard
to walk or step on.
With all this mess, how is a blind person going to walk to take
their
desired public transportation? How am I supposed to step on all
those
mountains of slippery ice waiting for the bus?
for once, this is driving me crazy and is putting my
independence at risk
of
going down the drain. Like I said, my parent has to drive me to
and from,
every day, and if this continues to happen, I fear that I will
lose
practice
of traveling on the city bus.
what it's making things more bothersome is that, quite frankly,
I feel
embarrassed by my Dad to pick me up at the college, right in
front of the
main class building, and take me there because, well, about
99.2% of all
the
college students can DRIVE and do DRIVE their own cars, and I
don't know
what they think of me when my Dad has to do that. I am very
disappointed
with them not being able to also clean up the snow and ice from
the bus
stops and their sidewalks. I am also angry because they don't
even think
about people, especially blind or disabled, depending on buses
to take
them
everywhere since they have to use those bus stops.
What should I do? Where should I start from in trying to put
someone to
clear up those paths and sidewalks where there are bus stop so
that I can
travel safely and independently once again? who should I tell
about this?
which authority should know this?
I wonder how sighted people are getting off and on those buses
with all
this
sleek. I'm sure Ice can try out on those sidewalks and stops,
however, it
is
very cold and I doubt this will happen soon enough for me to
ride the bus.
do you have any recommendations for me on this situation? Any
ideas?
suggestions? tips?
your help and advice is welcome please. I'm tired of my dad
having to
drive
here and there every morning and spend his gas, and embarrassed
that I am
one of those very few, or the only one, whose parents take them
to
college.
I'm sure no college student wants that since we are now adults.
Sincerely,
Humberto
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