Pedestian Safety

AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND OF MARYLAND

Reprinted from
THE Braille Forum May 2006 Published By The American Council of the Blind

A MAJOR ADA VICTORY by Al Pietrolungo and Patrick Sheehan
Recently, ACB of Maryland celebrated a major victory in an ongoing effort to get accessible pedestrian signals (APS) installed and make street- crossing easier for blind pedestrians. In a letter dated July 8, 2005, the Federal Highway Administration found that the State Highway Administration was not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act when that agency denied requests by blind citizens for accessible pedestrian signals. This brief statement was the official response to an effort which began about six years ago when Charlie Crawford's leadership on this issue inspired our affiliate to make the installation of APS a major priority.
Initially, our effort involved the administrative complaint process. Charlie Crawford in Montgomery County and Phil Guntner in Baltimore County filed complaints with the Federal Highway Administration after the state ignored their requests for the installation of APS near their homes. We commented that asking FHA administrators to investigate the SHA was like asking the fox to guard the chicken coop. Unfortunately, this prediction was accurate, and both complaints were dismissed.
After this disappointment, Ralph Sanders and the legislative committee introduced a pedestrian safety bill in the Maryland General Assembly that would have required the installation of APS, but our bill was combined with other bills in committee. Our APS language disappeared in that smoke-filled committee room.
Being stubborn folks, we approached local governments about installing APS, and Montgomery County and Baltimore City agreed to install a few. The effort in Baltimore required the members of the Central Maryland Council of the Blind to hold a demonstration in front of city hall on Dec. 18, 2000. A few months later, the Southern Maryland Council of the Blind held a similar demonstration in Leonardtown, which forced the SHA to agree to install an APS at that intersection.
With all this work, by October 2002, we had obtained about seven new signals and promises for a few more. We were dissatisfied with this limited progress. So, on Oct. 17, 2002, we filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation. After we participated in a meeting to try to resolve the dispute, the waiting process began.
After much waiting, we received a letter from the Federal Highway Administration on July 8, 2005, which informed us that SHA was not in compliance with the ADA. As previously indicated, FHA interpreted an intersection as a traffic facility and indicated that restricting program or information access to that facility constituted a violation of the ADA.
At the ACB of Maryland state convention in November 2005, Neil Pedersen, administrator for the State Highway Administration, made a commitment to install APS at 1,250 traffic-controlled intersections on highways controlled by his department. He said this process would be completed by 2015. In addition, Pedersen agreed to convene a panel of stakeholders to go beyond what ADA mandates throughout the state to increase pedestrian safety. This panel, which will be convened in the next 60 days, will look at issues like sidewalk construction, lighting and the installation of accessible bus shelters throughout the state.
What is significant in the APS saga is the FHA's determination that intersections are traffic facilities, and that everyone has the right to access the information provided by traffic signals. Maryland has shared this decision with other affiliates, hoping they can take advantage of this favorable ruling by the FHA. In addition, we are using this position to push for other APS installations throughout the state at non-SHA-controlled intersections. Thanks to the efforts of Charlie Crawford and many dedicated Maryland members, the Maryland Department of Transportation and SHA have come to recognize ACBM as the leader in the state when it comes to pedestrian safety and access issues.




Reprinted from The Washington Post

Letters To the Editor
Sunday, April 16, 2006
For Safer Intersections
Wal-Mart's plan to build a "supercenter" store in St. Mary's County includes a redesign of two major intersections along Route 235 in California. Although the report of the traffic planning consultant hired by Wal-Mart describes the realigned intersections in some detail, provisions for pedestrian access are conspicuous by their absence.
For several years, the American Council of the Blind of Maryland has been working with the Maryland State Highway Administration and other interested parties to help ensure pedestrian safety at busy traffic intersections in our state. In 2001, our organization requested that the MSHA make pedestrian accessibility modifications at more than a dozen intersections in St. Mary's County. Among these intersections were those cited in the Wal-Mart traffic study. These modifications were to include accessible pedestrian signals to facilitate the safe crossing of intersections by disabled pedestrians. Since that time, the only intersection to be modified was that at Routes 5 and 245 in Leonardtown. But, last November at our organization's annual convention in Baltimore, MSHA Administrator Neil J. Pedersen made a formal commitment to install accessible pedestrian signals at some 1,250 intersections in Maryland over the next decade. Mr. Pedersen's pledge, which was approved by Secretary of Transportation Robert L. Flanagan, includes all of the controlled intersections along Route 235 and many others on adjacent state roads.
Despite the indifference of Wal-Mart and some local officials, traffic planners must address the needs of all stakeholders, including pedestrians. Given Wal-Mart's corporate citizenship record and its ability to influence the political process, those advocating for pedestrian safety will need to use every tool at their disposal. Maryland's pedestrians deserve traffic intersections that are both safe and accessible. Consequently, I would ask that your readers contact their elected representatives and make certain that they understand the importance of pedestrian safety. To learn more about the American Council of the Blind of Maryland, you can visit us online at http://www.acb-md.org .
Robert A. Kerr
Vice President
American Council of the Blind of Maryland

AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND OF MARYLAND

RESOLUTION 2005-2:

PEDESTRIAN SAFETY

WHEREAS, America Walks is a national coalition of local advocacy groups dedicated to promoting walkable communities, and

WHEREAS, Bill Smith, a local activist affiliated with America Walks, has asked our organization to collaborate with him in advocating for the rights of pedestrians, and

WHEREAS, the American Council of the Blind of Maryland is committed to ensuring the safety of blind and sighted pedestrians alike,

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the American Council of the Blind of Maryland meeting in convention in Baltimore, Maryland this day, November 6, 2005, authorizes the President to take all necessary actions to promote pedestrian safety in Maryland including the participation of our organization in any coalition concerned with pedestrian rights.




AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND

PEDESTRIAN SAFETY FACT SHEET

THE PROBLEM

*The volume of motor traffic continues to increase, while the design and operation of traffic control systems become ever more complex in order to move increasing volumes of traffic more quickly.

* Exclusive left turn cycles, uncontrolled right turn channels are increasingly used.
These turning movements cross the pedestrian path, their timing cannot be anticipated by the blind pedestrian and their sound obscures the directional cues from straight-through traffic.

* Blind pedestrians judge traffic by sound, whether they travel with a white cane or with a guide dog, while those with low vision supplement visual cues with sound cues, too.

* The sound cues provided by traffic no longer tell enough about when it is appropriate to cross an intersection. This is because traffic signals for vehicles are less and less often accompanied by automated walk signals

* On a per-mile basis, walking is more dangerous than driving, flying, or riding a bus or train.

* More than 4906 pedestrians were killed in traffic accidents in 1999

* There were 85,000 pedestrians injured

* People who are blind or visually impaired are disproportionately represented in the pedestrian population.

* On average, just 1% of funds spent in states on safety projects are directed at pedestrian safety despite the fact that, nationwide, approximately 12 percent of traffic deaths and serious injuries were to pedestrians. In Maryland, some 115 pedestrians lost their lives during 2004, accounting for more than 16% of traffic fatalities statewide.

* With the baby boom generation in America fast approaching their retirement years - and living longer, we can expect a significant increase in the number of Americans who are blind or visually impaired.
* By age 65, one in nine people experience vision loss that cannot be corrected by lenses.
* By age 80, it is one in four.

* By the year 2015, we can expect a further 50% growth in the population of blind Americans.

THE SOLUTION

*Manufacturers have developed pedestrian audible pedestrian signals (APS) that emit a low audible locator tone to alert a blind pedestrian that a crosswalk signal is nearby.

* Pushing the walk button activates a walk cycle, which lasts for a set length of time sufficient to allow an average person to safely cross a street.

* The walk cycle in most cases lasts longer than a green light not activated by the push button.

* When the walk cycle begins, the visible red sign flashes on, and an audible tone or voice, slightly louder than the locator tone, immediately alerts the individual that the walk cycle is on.

* Thus, sighted and blind persons receive the same information that the walk cycle has begun.

The implementation by municipal, county, state and federal governments of a policy on the location and operation of audible pedestrian signals that makes provision for the safety of blind and visually impaired pedestrians which is ergonomically appropriate, effective and comparable to that provided to other pedestrians, by giving blind and visually impaired pedestrians the same information about when it is safe and legal to cross an intersection.


CONCLUSION

All pedestrians are at risk in the ever expanding and complex world of the automobile.
As the American population ages, more pedestrians will be exposed to the serious risk of death or injury.
Thus, pedestrian signals can and should be made accessible for pedestrians who are blind or visually impaired. It is time for modification to related components of design and operation to actualize the nation's commitment to its pedestrian citizens.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

The American Council of the Blind has printed a Pedestrian Safety Handbook, used by ACB's 67 affiliates throughout the country. The handbook includes articles defining the problem, model language for pedestrian safety legislation, descriptions of available accessible traffic signals, and other advocacy information.

AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND
1155 15TH STREET NW, SUITE 1004
WASHINGTON, DC 20005
PHONE: (202) 467-5081
PHONE: (202) 467-5085
www.acb.org