New York judge calls for the expansion of acoustic traffic lights at street crossings. Citizens hope that the city of New York will stick to the decision.
Al Cutolo is blind. Traffic lights with acoustic signals help him and other people with visual impairments to cross the street crossings of New York safely.
Unfortunately, only a few intersections in the city of New York have traffic lights with audible signals. As a result, Al Cutolo relies on traffic noise or the help of others to safely cross an intersection.
Also Lori Scharff, former president of the American Council of the Blind of New York, reports that when crossing a street intersection, people with visual impairments are forced to resort to the help of others or to orient themselves by sounds.
It’s all just a guessing game, says Scharff. An acoustic traffic light would give people with visual impairments the security they need.
hoping for a court decision
how on Spectrum News 1 is reported, the US District Court has ruled that the City of New York must drastically expedite the installation of audible beep and vibrate traffic lights.
The judge ordered the city to install audible traffic lights at more than 9,000 intersections over the next ten years and at all intersections over the next fifteen years.
A spokesman for the City of New York said the court’s guidance will be carefully evaluated to support the city’s progress in improving accessibility for blind and visually impaired people.
Last year it was found that the city had failed to install audible traffic lights at nearly 97% of the more than 13,000 intersections. There are currently 929 intersections with acoustic traffic lights.
That’s not enough for Al Cutolo: “I would like to see every intersection have an acoustic traffic light so that we can all be safe and independent like everyone else.”
The order also determined that meeting the requirement to install more traffic lights would cost $672 million. That’s just a fraction of New York’s annual budget, which is $102 billion.
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