Audible traffic signals to help disabled197354333634805 Optimum News 12 Newsday.com MSG Varsity Explore LI AM New York Optimum Autos Optimum Homes Subscribe to Newsday Today's paper Today's Paper / Archives »Recent covers gallery »Recent covers gallery »Today's Paper / ArchivesYou must log in or register as a 7-day Newsday print subscriber to view this option.Recent covers gallery »My Newsday Manage my account»Subscribe to TV Weekly »Subscribe to Newsday»Manage my account»Subscribe to TV Weekly »Traffic alerts4 7 m ago Car into woodsIn BAY SHORE accident on THE SOUTHERN ST PKWY WB at 5TH AVE/CR-13/X427 m ago In WEST HILLS accident on NY RT-25(JERICHO TPK/MIDDLE CNTRY RD/MAIN ST) at CR-92/OAKWOOD RDIn WEST HILLS accident on NY RT-25(JERICHO TPK/MIDDLE CNTRY RD/MAIN ST) at CR-92/OAKWOOD RD7 m ago In BRENTWOOD accident on SAGTIKOS PKWY SB near PINE AIRE DR/S3In BRENTWOOD accident on SAGTIKOS PKWY SB near PINE AIRE DR/S37 m ago In BRENTWOOD accident on SAGTIKOS PKWY NB near THE L.I.E./I-495/S1. Slow traffic from G ST/S2In BRENTWOOD accident on SAGTIKOS PKWY NB near THE L.I.E./I-495/S1. Slow traffic from G ST/S2view traffic » Hicksville, NY 69° Current conditions69°Hi 72°Lo 59°Partly Cloudy radarHumidity: 65% Wind: SSE 8 mph Barometer: 30.12 Hgfull forecast hour-by-hour local map Register Log in Hi Dootsie6 SettingsNewslettersLog out Long IslandCHANGE REGION Change your region ? Westchester / Rockland Do you want to make Westchester / Rockland your default region? Yes No You can change this selection at any time in your settings. checked out some sweet rides at the Bellmore Car Cruise. Long IslandSportsEntertainmentNewsLifestyleBusinessHealthOpinionJobsCarsReal EstateMore Special sections Buy & Sell Place an ad Legal Notices Yellow Pages Contest Latest photos Nassau Suffolk Towns Commuting Crime Politics Obits Databases Education Programs Find us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter TrafficLong Island > Transportation Print Aa 6 commentsEmail Audible traffic signals to help disabled Originally published: June 17, 2012 7:47 PM Updated: June 17, 2012 7:59 PM By CARL MACGOWAN carl.macgowan@newsday.com Photo credit: Photo by Jacqueline Connor | Marilyn Tucci poses for a portrait with her guide dog, Anna, at the audible crosswalk on the corner of Sycamore Ave and Veterans Highway in Bohemia, NY. (Jun. 12, 2012) Videos Red light mistake? Seeing red over red light cameras Galleries LI car accidents Web links MAP: Red light cameras on Long Island Marilyn Tucci and her guide dog, Anna, were walking to a meeting in Smithtown when they stopped at an intersection on Main Street. The Shirley woman, blind since birth, could not see traffic signals that would tell her when it was OK to cross the street. When she thought the coast was clear, she motioned to Anna to move forward. But the Labrador-golden retriever mix would not budge. So Tucci and her canine companion waited, listening as cars whizzed by. "I stood on this corner, no exaggeration, for 20 minutes," Tucci said of the day in December 2010. "Every time I thought it would be safe to cross . . . the dog would refuse." Crossing Main Street became less difficult this year with the addition of devices known as audible pedestrian signals. The machines, also called audible crosswalks, are used at an increasing number of Long Island intersections. New models, such as the ones installed in Smithtown, have an electronically generated voice that tells pedestrians when it is safe to cross a road and counts down the seconds before a traffic signal changes. Earlier versions, many still in use, beep but do not talk. Guide dogs are taught to not cross a street if they sense it isn't safe. But dogs aren't perfect, and the audible signals are "just one more thing to make it a little more safer," said Anne Mercer of the Guide Dog Foundation in Smithtown. The state Department of Transportation has installed the devices, which cost about $1,500 each, at 32 intersections in Nassau and Suffolk since 2004, said Eileen Peters, a DOT spokeswoman. Suffolk has put them on seven county roads, and Nassau has nine audible signals on county roads, county spokeswomen said. An audible signal is to be installed by fall at Montauk Highway and William Floyd Parkway in Shirley, near Tucci's home. "It's going to mean that maybe I can cross the street safely," said Tucci, 60, an independent-living specialist for the Suffolk Independent Living Organization in Ronkonkoma, which works with the disabled. The Shirley signal was requested on Tucci's behalf by Patrick Mitchell, commander of American Veterans Sons Post 48 in Blue Point. The retired special education teacher said he has successfully lobbied state and Suffolk officials to place more than a dozen of the devices on local roads. "Who knows?" Mitchell said. "Maybe they'll be helping me someday." In addition to the blind, audible crosswalks help seniors and others whose infirmities make crossing the street challenging. Suffolk County Legis. Lynne Nowick (R-St. James) said they help nonhandicapped pedestrians, too. "This device," she said, "is like having your mother standing next to you, telling you how many seconds you have left." By the numbers 48 Intersections with audible signals 19 Intersections in Nassau 29 Intersections in Suffolk $1,500 Cost per signal Where they are Audible pedestrian signals are at the following locations: Babylon: Deer Park Avenue at Fire Island Avenue Bellrose:Jericho Turnpike at 249th Street and Penn Avenue Bohemia:Veterans Memorial Highway at Sycamore Avenue Carle Place: Old County Road and No. 1 Old Country Road Coram: Port Jefferson-Patchogue Road at Skips Road; Port Jefferson-Patchogue Road at Wedgewood Drive East Commack: Jericho Turnpike at Beechwood Lane, Commack shopping center; Jericho Turnpike at Kings Park Road Farmingdale: Fulton Street at Staples Street Garden City: Merillon Avenue and Oxford Boulevard; Merillon Avenue and Nassau Boulevard Glen Cove: Glen Street and Glen Cove Senior Center Hewlett: Broadway and Franklin Avenue Hicksville: Newbridge Road and LIRR station; Newbridge Road at Fordham Road and Elmira Street; Newbridge Road at Stewart Avenue and School Drive; Broadway at Herzog Place/LIRR station Huntington: Main Street at New York Avenue (Route 110) Islip: Montauk Highway at Union Avenue; Montauk Highway at Monell Avenue; Montauk Highway at Grant Avenue Kings Park: Main Street at Old Dock Road/Pulaski Road/East Northport Road Levittown: Newbridge Road at Levittown Parkway and Flamingo Road Lindenhurst: Montauk Highway at South Broadway Mineola: Old Country Road, West Street and Third Avenue Oyster Bay: South Street at Audrey Avenue and East Main Street; South Street at West Main Street Port Washington: Shore Road and Delco Plaza; Port Washington Boulevard at Eastern Crest Selden: Middle Country Road at North Ocean Avenue (County Road 83) Smithtown: Jericho Turnpike at Ledgewood Drive; State Route 25 at state routes 111 and 25A; Main Street at Maple Avenue; Main Street at Landing Avenue and Miller Place; Main Street at Redwood Lane and New York Avenue; Middle Country Road at Terry Road South Farmingdale: Main Street, Marion Street and Fallwood Parkway; Main Street, Midwood Avenue and Staples Street Terryville: Port Jefferson-Patchogue Road at Washington Avenue West Babylon: Babylon-Farmingdale Road at Great East Neck Road and Little Neck Be the first to rate: 0 Click to rate You might also be interested in: 'That's My Boy': It's no good From newsday.com - Entertainment Mary Kennedy's family decries RFK Jr. accusations From newsday.com Hundreds evacuated in Hempstead fire From newsday.com - Long Island News Stony Brook eliminated from College World Series From newsday.com - Sports Selected for you by our sponsor: Former major league pitcher Curt Schilling takes leave from ESPN analyst duties From ESPN New York What Is Zoobiquity? From Zoobiquity CommentsPlease log in to comment. Civility matters; click here to read our commenting guidelines.Log in 0 NotificationsYou have no messages You've received a new rank!Disqus SettingsLogoutAbout Disqus Like Dislike Glad you liked it. Would you like to share?FacebookTwitterShareNo thanksSharing this page …Thanks! Close Add New Comment Logout Image Post as Dootsie6 Showing 6 comments Sort by Popular now Best rating Newest first Oldest first Subscribe by email Subscribe by RSS Real-time updating is paused. (Resume)0 new comment was just posted. Show lionbferracane 1 hour ago We all should be a lot more obsevent when we see blind people that might need help. Some drivers just decide to speed up so they don'y have to deal with it. I've seen some people just wave them on like they could see. If you want to help pullover to the side of the road and ask if you can be of assistance show more show less Flag Like ReplyReply marilynw2 5 hours ago we need an audible signal crossing at Mott St. and Long Beach Road in Oceanside! show more show less Flag Like ReplyReply scoobie57 11 hours ago Port Washington has a Hellen Keller Center and trains vision impaired individuals on on busy Port Washington Streets so more audible signals need to be installed especially along Main Street. Signs need to be installed to alert drivers of Vision Impaired people area. Fines for passing red lights in such areas which should have video cameras needs to be increased. show more show less Flag Like ReplyReply tint48 12 hours ago Be good place for camera's. Would be a gold mine fof the county show more show less Flag Like ReplyReply scoobie57 11 hours ago in reply to tint48 greast idea. Areas which see more vision impaired people need to have signs posted alerting drivers of the fact and that the intersection is video enforced. Might raise fines for the areas so marked. Too many drivers make their own traffic rules and make our roads far more dangerous then they need to be. show more show less Flag Like ReplyReply DerangedHermit 16 hours ago Maybe they should do something about the blind drivers at Montauk and William Floyd. show more show less Flag Like ReplyReply 0 new comment was just posted. ShowRelated Stories Watchdog: Parking permits for disabled Wife gets red light camera ticket, ex-judge sues Effectiveness of red-light cameras debated Red light cams foolproof? LI man begs to differ Alfonso Castillo on Twitter Follow Newsday's Alfonso Castillo on Twitter. @AlfonsoReportsAlfonsoReports: RT @Steel_Cage: Our own @JoshNASCARWWE talked to @TheCurtHawkins about returning to LI for #WWERaw Monday. Check it out: http://t.co/77m9gKfk #Newsday 23 hours agoAlfonsoReports: RT @AlCastlePWI: If the guys who attacked @Sting turn a fan into a leopard on #IMPACTLive next week, I'm going to go nuts #BLACKSCORPIONLIVES! 3 days agoAlfonsoReports: RT @RealPatMcNeill: Wrasslin' fans, join me, @AlfonsoReports & @RajGiri_303 today at 5:30 PM EDT on the PWTorch Livecast! RT, you people. http://t.co/7gKGWvAz 5 days agoAlfonsoReports: RT @Steel_Cage: Be sure to listen to the Steel Cage's own @AlfonsoReports on the Pro Wrestling Torch Livecast today at 5:30 pm http://t.co/xypmYcw5 5 days agoAlfonsoReports: Picked up an @NYPressClub award tonight for my continuing coverage of the #LIRR . #Honored http://t.co/fUgskSoQ 6 days agoMost popular StoriesPhotos 2 killed in motorcycle-pedestrian crash 6/17/12Hundreds evacuated in Hempstead fire 6/17/12 Resident recounts Hempstead fire 4:59 PM Judge dismisses $40M Marcelo Lucero suit 1:21 PM Hot dog vendor sentenced for prostitution 2:23 PM Meet Long Island's 2012 valedictorians Recent LI mug shots Top Jobs search jobs security guards real estate appraisers customer service rep, f/t construction project manager/ass''t super medical receptionist telemarketing coins View all top jobs Post your resume Services Join us on facebook Join us on twitter Sign up for news alerts Sign up for newsletters Get our Apps Newsday mobile Our Network Explore Long Island Long Island Towns am New York Optimum Autos Star Publishing Optimum Homes CareerBuilder News 12 Optimum MSG MSG Varsity Power to Learn Site Map | Privacy Policy | Your ad choices | Terms of Service | Contact Newsday | Careers | Media Kit | Advertise with Newsday | Help | Copyright © 2012 Newsday. All rights reserved. Hide Toolbar Follow usSubmit Photo News Video Event RSSToday's most popularMy headlinesRegister Log in My Profile Log out