[Nyabs] {Disarmed} New Pedestrian Plazas Are a Nightmare for the Blind

Wed Nov 10 03:23:47 UTC 2010

Hey Nyabs-ers,

Here is an article sent out by the NYC Disabilities Network about the
changes in street and sidewalk configurations in the city and the effect on
visually impaired/blind pedestrians. Enjoy.

Peace,

Kate Carroll

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <NYCSubee at aol.com>
Date: Mon, Nov 8, 2010 at 11:04 AM
Subject: [Disabilities Network of NYC] New Pedestrian Plazas Are a Nightmare
for the Blind
To: MsM915 at aol.com, DNNYC at yahoogroups.com, marvinwssrmn at aol.com,
msapolin at cityhall.nyc.gov, srscheer at hotmail.com', 504dems at yahoogroups.com

Blind and visually impaired New Yorkers are struggling to cope with the
city's new pedestrian plazas and bike lanes.New Pedestrian Plazas Are a
Nightmare for the Blind
*
*
*By Jill Colvin*
*DNAinfo Reporter/Producer*
MIDTOWN EAST — Navigating Midtown streets has always been challenging for
West Village resident Maria Hansen, who is blind. But now, it's downright
frightening.

 The Department of Transportation is in the midst of a massive initiative to
re-engineer city streets with pedestrian plazas, extended sidewalks and
protected bike lanes. But while the redesigns may slow traffic and reduce
fatalities, they're turning many intersections into obstacle courses for the
blind and visually impaired, advocates say.
"We find that virtually every one of these improvements makes it more
dangerous," said Hansen, who has lived in the city for 40 years, as her
guide dog Frisco lay at her feet.

 DOT spokeswoman Nicole Garcia said that new projects like plazas make city
streets better for everyone by shortening crossings, simplifying
intersections and adding pedestrian space.

 "New York City's streets have never been safer, and we are committed to
doing even more, particularly for our most vulnerable New Yorkers," she said
in a statement.

 But at a City Council hearing last week, Hansen and others complained that
concrete barriers, mid-block pedestrian crossings and new signaling patterns
are placing an extra burden on the nearly 30,000 blind and visually impaired
adults and seniors living in
Manhattan<http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/STTable?_bm=y&-context=st&-qr_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S1810&-ds_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_&-CONTEXT=st&-tree_id=309&-redoLog=false&-geo_id=05000US36061&-format=&-_lang=en>,
and accused the DOT of not doing enough to accommodate their needs.

 "They need to pay attention to the people that they're serving," said Marie
Gilles, who lost her vision eight years ago and now works at Lighthouse
International in Midtown East, a non-profit organization that serves and
advocates for people who are blind or visually impaired.
 [image: New Street Designs a Nightmare for the Blind and Visually Impaired,
Advocates Say]

Some of the city's new bike lane configurations have moved crosswalks past
sidewalks. (Courtesy of Dr. Dr. Eugene Bourquin)
 Years ago, the city's streetscape was dominated by traditional
intersections, where two streets cross at right angles, said Dr. Eugene
Bourquin, a leading mobility and orientation instructor who has been
studying the new designs as part of the newly-formed Pedestrians for
Accessible and Safe Streets (PASS) coalition.

 But with new traffic patterns, he said that has changed.For instance, the
city has been installing new pedestrian refuges in the middle of many roads,
but often doesn't warn local residents to expect a change."You think you've
crossed the street, and you haven't!" Hansen described.

 Karen Gourgey, 63, who lives near Union Square and runs the Computer Center
for Visually Impaired People at Baruch College, said that the pedestrian
mall near Madison Square Park is a another challenge.

 "There's absolutely nothing actually marking where the traffic starts,"
said Gourgey, who is also blind and relies on tactile demarcations in the
pavement to tell her when she's hit a road.

 "I've come up to places where things just seemed impossible," said Gourgey,
who is also president of PASS. "You can't afford to be in a position where
your only means of getting across the street is to ask for help," she said.
One easy and low-cost solution, advocates say, is installing Accessible
Pedestrian Signals (APS), which signal by sound or vibration when it's safe
to cross.
So far the city has installed 15 APS across the city, Garcia said, and new
legislation<http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=660153&GUID=DE5D9B38-652F-47EA-8BBF-3EA896BAB786&Options=ID%7CText%7C&Search=183-2010>being
considered by the council suggests there are more to come.

 But Dr. Bourquin said the DOT's decisions about where to put the devices
has sometimes been off-base.
The DOT installed one APS at the east-west crossing of Lexington Avenue and
E. 59th Street — "the easiest crossing in the world" — but not at the more
challenging north-south crossing, Dr. Bourquin said.

 The DOT also installed an APS near the Jewish Guild for the Blind where
West 56th Street crosses both Columbus Avenue and Broadway, but DNAinfo
found that the signal only gets a person halfway across the intersection to
a pedestrian island and not all the way across Broadway.

 Bourquin blamed the mistakes on the DOT's failure to consult with the
community.
"To date, we have not been brought to the table," said Gourgey, who also
feels the community has been largely ignored.
But DOT spokeswoman Nicole Garcia said the agency is open to discussion.
"If there are additional concerns, we'll absolutely work to address them,"
she said.

 By Jill Colvin<http://www.dnainfo.com/about-us/our-team/editorial-team/jill-colvin>,
DNAinfo.com

Follow Jill on Twitter @colvinj <http://twitter.com/colvinj>

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-- 
Kathryn CARROLL
St. John's University College of Law 2013
631-521-3018
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