Want to make changes in your pedestrian environment?
Have you ever wished you could obtain the money to make big changes in your pedestrian infrastructure? Well, here’s your chance. The Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration is granting funds to two entities who can help them develop, implement and evaluate transportation strategies to support transportation and community and system preservation practices which incorporate beneficial short- and long-term environmental, economic, and social equity effects which can help build livable communities. Eligible applicants are state agencies, MPOs, tribal governments, and units of local governments recognized by a state (which includes towns, cities, public transit agencies, air resources boards, school boards and park districts). Because non-governmental organizations are not eligible to receive these grants, they are encouraged to form partnerships with an eligible recipient as the project sponsor. The closing date to apply is January 31, 2001. For more information, go to
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi- bin/getdoc.cgi?/dbname=2000_register&docid=00-23267-filed
Blindness Awareness Month in Arkansas
On October 12, Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee read and signed a proclamation declaring November as Blindness Awareness Month in the state. The Arkansas Council of the Blind played a role in this; the event was intended to bring the public’s attention to blindness and blindness-related issues, support and services, new technologies, and leisure and recreational activities that are available, which allow blind people to enhance their lives and enable them to compete as equals in the sighted world.
The Arkansas Council convention will be held at the Heifer Project International Conference and Retreat Center near Perryville March 30-April 1, 2001. The cost for a two-night package, which includes five meals, is $100 per person plus a $10 early bird registration fee. For a one-night stay with three meals, the cost is $55 plus a $10 registration fee. Some of the scheduled speakers are the lieutenant governor, and ACB second vice president Pam Shaw. There will be a banquet Friday night and a picnic and hoedown on Saturday evening. For more information, contact Michael Triplett at (501) 223-9090 or (800) 562-6101.
Maryland Grants New Chapter a Charter
At its pre-convention board meeting October 6, ACB of Maryland granted a charter to the Southern Maryland Council of the Blind. This new chapter operates in these southern Maryland counties: St. Mary’s, Charles and Calvert. ACB Executive Director Charlie Crawford provided an inspirational speech at the banquet. Convention attendees passed resolutions addressing mass transit accessibility, increased staffing for the Maryland State Library for the Blind, and called upon the governor and his transportation secretary to stop opposing the installation of accessible pedestrian signals. The most important resolution supported the introduction of the model pedestrian safety legislation being promoted by ACB. The best-received announcements were about agreements to install accessible signals in downtown Baltimore and Silver Spring, as well as at a signal near the Maryland School for the Blind.