Boston urged to become more blind-friendly

From The Boston Globe:

Yakir Arbib (pictured) is blind. He is also a promising young pianist who daily negotiates the Green Line and busy urban streets on his way to study at the Berklee College of Music. None of it daunts him, except the congested crossroads at Massachusetts Avenue and Boylston Street.

The chirping of an audible crossing signal is supposed to alert him and other visually impaired pedestrians when it is safe to cross the traffic-choked street, but for several weeks the signal hasn’t worked.

“I wait for some nice person, or I take a chance,’’ the Israeli native said. “I don’t know how I’m going to get around having to cross that street. I think I’ll have to find a different way.’’

Just blocks away, at Fairfield Street and Commonwealth Avenue, another audible signal for the blind was not functioning properly. Advocates for the blind say that at any given time, a significant number of Boston’s 40 audible intersections work poorly or not at all, and they accuse the city of making maintenance a low priority.

Further, they say, Boston has lagged other major cities in making its streets more navigable for the visually impaired, noting that it has failed to heed federal recommendations that urge cities to install audible crosswalk signals at new or upgraded intersections. Most glaring, they say, is that more than 100 intersections created as part of the Big Dig lack the devices.

“In terms of accessibility, Boston is behind the eight ball,’’ said Bob Hachey, president of Bay State Council of the Blind. “It has not done itself proud. It’s been like getting blood from a stone.’’

City officials say they install new signals almost exclusively based on requests from individuals and the state Commission for the Blind, which also fields complaints and requests. They said they are doing their best to keep signals working properly but would be able to address problems quicker if pedestrians notify officials.

“I can see why it would be incredibly frustrating to pedestrians who rely on them,’’ said Jim Gillooly, deputy commissioner of the Boston Transportation Department, which is responsible for installation and maintenance. “We really rely on people who use these signals to let us know if they aren’t working. If we know about them, we’ll get them fixed.’’

Gillooly said his office has not received many complaints about faulty signals, adding that people should report problems for quicker results.

But advocates say the audible signals are often on the blink for weeks, in Boston as well as neighboring communities, making some of the area’s busiest intersections feel like a roll of the dice.

“We all have crossings that we call ‘pray and go,’ ’’ said Pauline Downing, a Somerville resident who is blind. She is the former president of Guide Dog Users of Massachusetts.

Hachey, of the Bay State Council of the Blind, with a German shepherd as his guide, visited the Massachusetts Avenue/Boylston Street intersection one day last week to document problems. When working properly, the chirping signal is supposed to sound for pedestrians walking in either direction in all four crosswalks - a total of eight audible signals - but as Hachey tested them, five failed to activate. A separate audible cue at the intersection, designed to help blind people locate the walk buttons, was drowned out by heavy morning traffic.

“That’s useless,’’ he said. “It’s far too low given the ambient noise.’’

He spoke into a recorder to remind himself to notify the state Commission for the Blind about the problem.

“Absolutely no audible signal,’’ he said.

To many who are visually impaired, signals that don’t work are an added irritation to their complaint that the city has been slow to install more audible signals. Some have asserted the city is bound by the Americans with Disabilities Act to put in signals at new and upgraded intersections, such as those created by the Big Dig. But Boston transportation officials say they are not legally obligated by the act and note that the systems can cost more than $10,000.

Jessie Lorenz, director of public policy for San Francisco’s LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, which two years ago successfully lobbied the city to install accessible signals at some 80 intersections, said that while the question has not come before a court, federal transportation officials are recommending that new road projects include accessible signals, and local leaders are beginning to take note.

Not all advocates for the blind press for more signals, and some even suggest it’s unreasonable to expect audible signals at every intersection, saying vision-impaired pedestrians should not become reliant on them.

“We have not tended to endorse audible traffic signals,’’ said Chris Danielsen, spokesman for the National Federation of the Blind. “We believe a blind person should learn cane-travel techniques, and part of that is learning to hear the traffic patterns.’’

The relative scarcity of the devices, Danielsen said, and the risk of malfunction demonstrate their limits.

But complicating that view is the growing prevalence of quiet cars, especially hybrids, which can have virtually no engine noise at slow speeds. Some say they pose safety risks for those relying on senses other than sight. The federation is lobbying for federal legislation mandating cars meet certain decibel requirements.

“Vehicles should emit a minimum level of sound so that all pedestrians are safe,’’ Danielsen said. “Blind people need to hear the sound to determine speed and direction of the traffic.’’

But other visually impaired people say audible signals are the key, and that cities like Boston need to make a priority of installing new ones and keeping them working.

“You get excited initially when there’s a new one. They give you peace of mind,’’ said Tim Cumings, a Brighton resident who is blind. “But then they don’t work from one day to the next.’’