[rehab] Roundabout showdown: Disability rights attorney sayslegal fight coming in Wisconsin, La Crosse Tribune, May 10, 2009

Wed May 20 04:34:55 UTC 2009

I find that it helps to run screaming and waving your cane in the air at
every point in the roundabout.  /smile/

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: rehab-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:rehab-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Lansaw,Jane
Sent: Monday, May 18, 2009 1:49 PM
To: Rehabilitation Counselor Mailing List
Subject: Re: [rehab] Roundabout showdown: Disability rights attorney
sayslegal fight coming in Wisconsin, La Crosse Tribune, May 10, 2009

What sort of round abouts are they discussing?  Are they big, hairy ones
like the famous DuPont circle in  DC or are they little green spots in
the middle of a plus shaped intersection?  I don't know about these
blanket statements.  

"Bernstein is more blunt: "A blind person cannot cross a roundabout.
Period. You cannot do it.""

I think this is true for most blind folks on some round abouts but it
really depends on what they are doing.  Can anyone describe these round
abouts to me?

We have some little ones in the middle of plus shaped intersections in a
residential area and I teach them regularly.  Both streets are quiet but
one is a little more active and a blank spot can be heard in parallel
traffic when you are facing the quieter of the two.  If they were high,
fast trafficked streets, I would probably teach students to go
counterclockwise around them so that they are across the first lane of
traffic before an unexpected car can go from the point in the curve
where the driver sees them and the point where that car is driving
through the crosswalk.  The biggest problem is the right turners.  The
through traffic has to ease to the right and then left to go through and
it takes a minute to decide if a car is turning in front of you or is
still your parallel.  Here I would recommend lights and signs that said
no right turn on red.

Sure wish I could get up there to walk around and listen to those darn
things.  My recommendation for crossing at Dupont circle is a taxi but
then the driver might get on it and run up the fare because he doesn't
know how to cross it either.  Grin.

Jane Lansaw
NOMC

-----Original Message-----
From: rehab-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:rehab-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Nightingale, Noel
Sent: Monday, May 18, 2009 1:57 PM
To: 'blindlaw at nfbnet.org'; 'rehab at nfbnet.org'
Subject: [rehab] Roundabout showdown: Disability rights attorney says
legal fight coming in Wisconsin, La Crosse Tribune, May 10, 2009

Link:
http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=1705712541&SrchMode=1&sid=1&F
mt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1242419075&clientId=11925
Text:
Roundabout showdown: Disability rights attorney says legal fight coming
in Wisconsin
Chris Hubbuch
La Crosse Tribune, Wisconsin

May 10--They have tried political maneuvering, a referendum, even recall
elections.

Now opponents of traffic roundabouts in Prairie du Chien have a new
weapon: a blind attorney from Michigan who says Wisconsin is heading for
a legal showdown if it doesn't back off plans to build roundabouts.

Richard Bernstein, who specializes in disability rights cases, has
battled roundabouts in his home state -- and threatened lawsuits in
Wisconsin -- on the grounds they violate the federal Americans with
Disabilities Act.

Blind people who rely on their ears to detect breaks in traffic flow
can't easily navigate them. Bernstein says the constant flow of traffic
also puts senior citizens and children at risk.

"It's like 'Frogger,'" he said.

Proponents, including highway engineers, point to studies that show
roundabouts reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities.

"Statistics indicate they are a safer intersection for pedestrians in
general and far safer for vehicles," said Pat Fleming, standards
development engineer for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

While they are safer for motorists, roundabouts present problems for
pedestrians who can't see.

Research on pedestrian safety in roundabouts is limited, but a study
published in the Journal of Transportation Engineering found blind
pedestrians had trouble crossing and stepped in front of oncoming
traffic at an unacceptably high rate.

Bernstein is more blunt: "A blind person cannot cross a roundabout.
Period. You cannot do it."

A solution in the works

The Wisconsin DOT has built 43 roundabouts on state highways since 2004.
It has 190 in the planning or construction phase and estimates about 45
others have been built by county or municipal governments.

Bernstein says a legal battle is inevitable if the state continues to
replace traditional intersections with the circles. But a possible
solution is already in the works.

the U.S. Access Board, the federal agency that determines accessibility
guidelines for people with disabilities, is in the process of adopting
standards that recommend pedestrian-activated signals at all multi-lane
roundabouts, such as the ones proposed in Prairie du Chien.

Lois Thibault, coordinator of research for the Access Board, said the
Justice Department is expected to adopt the standards by the end of the
year.

Once adopted, the nonbinding standards will provide states legal
protection against ADA suits, Thibault said. Those that don't follow
them could be forced to prove in court that their projects are
accessible.

The DOT's plans do not call for crossing signals.

Fleming said while the state always incorporates wheelchair-accessible
curbs, it would be impractical to make such accommodations for the blind
at every intersection.

Instead, Fleming said the department makes accommodations as necessary.
He said he was unaware of any visually impaired users on the Prairie du
Chien corridor, although Mayor Karl Steiner said there are two such
people in the area.

Disability advocates say public facilities should be accessible to
everyone.

"It's very hard for (traffic engineers) to wrap their minds around the
idea that a blind person might need to use this intersection," Thibault
said.

A $500,000 problem

In 2003, Prairie du Chien's Common Council approved reconstruction plans
for three roundabouts on Marquette Road, and the DOT has said the city
could be on the hook for up to $500,000 in design fees if it changes
plans.

Steiner, a vocal opponent of the plans, heard that Bernstein had been
successful in fighting roundabouts and contacted him, although it's
unclear what immediate role the attorney will play.

Bernstein, who said his disability rights work is all pro bono, has
argued one federal case against roundabouts in Michigan.

This spring, a judge ordered Oakland County to install traffic control
signals -- at an estimated cost of $500,000 each -- at two roundabouts
and to test whether they make the roads safe for disabled pedestrians.

If not, Bernstein said, the judge could order the county to build
bridges or tunnels or tear out the roundabouts.

For Prairie du Chien or other municipalities to move forward before
those studies are concluded is irresponsible, Bernstein said.

This is not the first attempt to block the roundabouts in Prairie du
Chien.

Last summer, after the council voted down Steiner's effort to scrap the
roundabout plans, a citizen group collected more than enough signatures
for a referendum to ban roundabouts, but the question was struck from
the ballot because of wording.

The group also mounted an effort to recall five aldermen over their
roundabout support. Only two of the 12 council members have consistently
voted against roundabouts.

Steiner says he's just trying to do the will of the people, most of whom
he believes oppose roundabouts.

Green Bay roundabouts

In March, the Green Bay City Council voted to scrap plans for six
roundabouts it had earlier approved for a one-mile stretch of Military
Avenue.

Michigan disability rights attorney Richard Bernstein addressed the
council about the problems roundabouts present for blind people and said
he threatened a suit if the city went ahead with its plans, although
Mayor Jim Schmitt downplayed Bernstein's role in the council's decision.

Schmitt said the project was too ambitious for an already developed
area, and the city didn't have enough time to assuage fears.

"I believe in roundabouts. They have great benefits," Schmitt said. "I
hope (the decision) doesn't negatively affect roundabouts in other
communities."

Credit: La Crosse Tribune, Wis.

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