by Daveed Mandell and Sheila Killian
People with disabilities often maintain that the amount of energy and concentration they must expend just trying to function in a largely inaccessible world is significantly greater for them than for people who do not rely on such access enhancements as ramps, curb cuts, tactile platform edge detection and accessible pedestrian signals. We have often heard disabled people remark that they feel as physically and emotionally exhausted by noon as most able-bodied people do by day’s end.
Let us consider how a blind or visually impaired pedestrian assesses a typical intersection. He or she must first approach that street crossing, and determine such basic information as the shape and location of both the curb and the crosswalk; the direction to face when crossing; whether there is a traffic light; the type of signal installed; whether it is necessary to push a button to activate the walk sign; and where the light pole is located. This process can be quite stressful, especially in unfamiliar areas. Just one mistake can result in serious injury or even death. Once we manage to figure out when and how to cross a specific street, we must then navigate safely across that intersection.
Can accessible pedestrian signals help blind and visually impaired people to make safe decisions as they travel across the busy streets in their environments?
Traffic lights convey important information to sighted pedestrians. For the most part, it does not matter whether one is familiar with a particular area or not, for, upon arriving at an intersection, a sighted pedestrian can identify the street on which he or she is walking, the street that intersects it, the direction of travel and when it is safe to cross. It is easy to discern traffic movement and additional landmarks, such as angled streets, median strips, islands and turning lanes. Accessible pedestrian signals should be as easy to use for blind and visually impaired pedestrians as traffic lights are for people who rely on their vision for orientation and mobility. The information which these devices convey should be clear, precise and quickly perceptible, requiring relatively little effort, even when a visually impaired pedestrian does not know the area in question.
Blind and visually impaired people are not the only ones who benefit from accessible pedestrian signals. Other populations — including young children, senior citizens, people with cognitive impairments, and individuals who become distracted by multiple visual stimuli — often depend on audible and/or tactile cues to cross the street.
Drawbacks of Current Accessible Pedestrian Signals
In one form or another, audible traffic signals have been around since the mid-1970s. During the past three decades, you may have encountered bells, buzzers, cuckoos or chirps, each indicating whether a WALK sign was on, at various intersections. Although many people have found these devices to be helpful, these signals of yesteryear have some very significant shortcomings.
The older systems — which are still widely used — were originally considered the latest and greatest technology. For the first time, blind and visually impaired pedestrians knew, without having to guess, exactly when the walk sign was illuminated, thus allowing them the maximum amount of time to cross the street.
There are, however, several serious problems with this type of signal. For one thing, the speakers from which the sounds emanate are placed high up on light poles, and can be pointed in ambiguous directions. Frequently, they point away from, or are even perpendicular to, the streets they are supposed to describe. In addition, echoes from the “bird” sounds can bounce off nearby buildings, which can make it difficult to determine their origin and location — and, therefore, which intersection they refer to. Furthermore, the recent trend of incorporating three or more distinct sounds in some signals at complex intersections is particularly distracting. This practice certainly does not conform to the U.S. Access Board’s interim guidelines for accessible pedestrian signals. The Access Board, as well as the two major consumer organizations of the blind, have found that a cacophonous blend of beeps, chirps, cuckoos, clicks and other sounds only serves to confuse, rather than assist. They make it difficult to listen to traffic patterns, and tend to become intermingled with other sounds in the environment.
Promising Technology Breakthrough
Exciting new and effective technologies for accessible pedestrian signals are now being developed. They convey much more information than the signals which were on the cutting edge three decades ago. The old technology does not provide essential information, like street names and direction of travel. Hundreds of blind people who attended the 1999 ACB national convention in Los Angeles crossed West Century Boulevard near the Westin Hotel at least once. In so doing, they doubtless discovered that modern accessible pedestrian signals, such as those manufactured by Polara Engineering of Fullerton, CA, employ several modalities to convey relevant information — information which cannot be conveyed by the old-fashioned beeping, chirping exclusively audible technology.
As you approach a Polara signal, you hear short, unobtrusive locator beeps — one every second — that direct you to a speaker and pushbutton, mounted approximately four feet above the ground on a traffic light pole. You must press the pushbutton to activate the signal. A quick press activates an audible walk sign indicator, which can take the form of most any sound desired. In its standard form, the signal is programmed to give a verbal walk message, e.g., “Walk sign is on to cross Broadway.”
It is possible to press and hold the signal’s pushbutton for four seconds to hear a more detailed message (which can last up to 16 seconds), announcing whatever additional information might be necessary to inform blind and visually impaired pedestrians about the layout of the intersection. You might hear, for example, information about the direction of travel, or the names of the intersecting streets. In addition to the verbal cues and locator tones, the Polara signal is equipped with a unique pulsating tactile arrow, on which can be embossed an optional braille and raised print direction-of-travel indicator, such as an “N” for north. The arrow pulsates in conjunction with the walk sign. It also points in the direction you must face to cross the street. Quickly pressing and releasing the pushbutton activates the pulsating arrow. Alternatively, the signal can be programmed to pulsate the arrow automatically whenever the walk sign is on.
Several other features make the Polara signal particularly useful to people who cannot rely on their vision as a safe indicator for negotiating intersections. Its face plate can be labeled with braille and raised print information, such as street names, or brief directions for negotiating complex intersections, island and/or turning lane shapes and arrangements. Its verbal and written messages can be tailored to the requirements of specific intersections. The volume of both the already relatively quiet locator beeps and voice messages can be adjusted separately to conform to the ambient traffic noise so as not to disturb the general public. Because the speaker and pushbutton are located in one unit on the light pole, the Polara signal accurately indicates the line of direction required to cross the street safely.
To summarize, the Polara accessible pedestrian signal conveys information about the layout of specific intersections quickly, quietly and clearly, and requires relatively little effort to learn. The signal is available to pedestrians 24 hours a day, without disturbing the general public. While familiarity with a specific area helps everyone, that need not be a requirement for a visually impaired pedestrian who merely wants to cross an unfamiliar street.
Simply put, we all — sighted and not — must pay attention to traffic patterns and remain alert as we approach street crossings. Advances in audible pedestrian signals, such as those described above, can afford blind and visually impaired travelers — who can use their senses of hearing and touch — nearly as much information as sighted travelers gain from watching traffic lights, looking for an illuminated walk sign and examining an intersection visually.
Now, traffic signals can be truly equally accessible to, and usable by, all pedestrians.
(Editor’s Note: To learn more about accessible pedestrian signals, consult the newly updated Pedestrian Safety Handbook, available for free download from the ACB web site, http://www.acb.org, and soon, in a variety of accessible formats, from the national office.)