NYC to have more audible signals for pedestrians
WITH blind and visually impaired individuals facing poor street access conditions, a federal judge ordered the city of New York, on Monday, Dec 27, 2021, to install more than 9,000 devices to facilitate their safe crossing of the road.
Historically, New York City’s crosswalks have had visual-only directions for its pedestrians that are inaccessible for the visually impaired.
The legal proceedings began after an organisation representing visually impaired people sued the city. The judge had already ruled that the city had violated the protection of people with disabilities.
In the ruling published last week, it ordered the appointment of a federal monitor in charge of overseeing the installation of audible signals at more than 13,000 intersections in the metropolis.
“We hope this decision is a wake-up call not just to New York City, but for every other transit agency in the country that’s been ignoring the needs of people with vision disabilities,” Torie Atkinson, lawyer for the American Council of the Blind and two visually impaired New Yorkers who filed the suit, told the New York Times.
This decision comes at a time when urban centres are grappling with shortcomings in this area, as many infrastructures remain inadequate for people with disabilities.
According to an APF France Handicap survey conducted in partnership with IFOP and published in January 2020, nine out of 10 people experience accessibility difficulties when traveling in France, based on findings collected from 12,000 respondents.
“Millions of people cannot easily and independently access public and private infrastructure because of their architectural design,” notes APF France Handicap, pointing out the glaring delay of French cities, in the run-up to the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris. – AFP Relaxnews