[nfbwatlk] Article regarding NY streets

[debby phillips]

Good morning all.  I read with interest the article that Marci 
sent the link to.  For those not good at accessing Facebook, I 
went to Google and did a search and found the article right away.  
Now, to the meat of what I'd like to say.

At first reading I too was offended at the article, but I would 
like to point out a few things.  First of all, Ken Stewart is 78, 
I believe the article said.  Older folks (and someday we will be 
in that category) don't deal with changes as well as younger 
ones.  So it's not just a matter of traveling as a blind person, 
but in some instances, at least, we are dealing with an aging 
population.  However, having said that, I will say that good cane 
skills er good dog handling skills are absolutely essential.  But 
I do think that we as blind folks have to learn to adapt to 
change, because whether we like it or not, the days of fairly 
simple traffic patterns are gone.  With right on red and turning 
lanes now available that sound of parallel traffic can be 
deceiving.  (And I've been in a small town for eight years, so I 
admit that my judgements about city traffic are probably off a 
bit.  But things are changing rapidly.  Whether we like it or 
not, (especially with gas prices) people are going to use more 
hybrids, and more bikes to get around.  They are definitely 
harder to hear.  I like the idea of pedestrian plazas though, 
admittedly they might be harder to stay oriented in.  So it seems 
to me that we need to figure out new ways of doing OandM that 
take these things in to account.  We also need to figure out how 
to teach our friends and family to help us learn new areas, or 
changed areas.

Now, I also know that this next statement may not be totally NFB 
correct, but I do think that there are times when it is necessary 
for there to be an accessible pedestrian signal.  There was a 
street here in Colville that was almost impossible to tell when 
the light changed to walk.  The parallel street had little 
traffic, and telling when the walk sign was on was very 
difficult.  Either there would be no parallel traffic, there 
would be one car and maybe a quiet one at that, and then the walk 
sign was gone.  they were going to put in an accessible signal, 
but what they did instead is they took out all the traffic lights 
along Main Street.  (That was NOT my idea).  Lol.  Now cars are 
supposed to stop for pedestrians.  They have stopped for me, and 
other people have said that it's great, but time will tell.  This 
is a year-long pilot program to see if it gets traffic through 
town more quickly.  It will, and Colville being the small town 
that it is, most people will stop for folks walking.  But anyway, 
that's one way for the state to get out of putting in an 
accessible pedestrian signal.  (Grin).

One thing in the article, they kept mentioning DAVID PATTERSON, 
but I thought he didn't use a white cane.  And as for memorizing 
every little hump in the sidewalk, that's crazy.  And I don't 
know anybody that counts steps.  If I ever have to start doing 
that, I'll probably be admitted to the crazy ward, cuz counting 
steps and keeping track of everything else I'd drive me to more.  
What's this thing with sighted folks counting steps, anyway?  
Everybody asks me, do you count your steps?  I would love to hear 
how NFB folks in New YORK City are dealing with the changes in 
the streets, etc.  The article was pretty negative.  Actually 
QUITE negative.  It made Ken Stewart out to be an idiot, and I've 
read his writings for years and know that he's not, he's actually 
a pretty bright guy.  Hope this isn't too far astray.    Peace,    
Debby