The invisible touch
How the visually impaired navigate the city
by Tara Atluri
photo by Adam Krawesky
http://spacing.ca/ped-blind.htm
: : : : : : :
When most of us go for a walk, we walk with the privilege of sight. But for
Randy Firth, head of Communication, Education and Public Issues with the
Toronto District Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB), walking
this city’s public space is a source of daily frustration. Wet cement,
inaccessible traffic signs, silent TTC rides, unrepaired sidewalks,
bicycles, multiple cycle lights (advance greens), sharpened edges of transit
maps, and a host of other barriers turn city streets into daily obstacle
courses for the visually impaired. Firth states that one constant annoyance
comes from privately owned businesses putting up sandwich boards in the
middle of the road without thinking. These A-frames are quite literally a
slap in the face for Toronto’s blind community.
The Toronto Advocacy Committee with the CNIB has been working to change this
by lobbying the city to create more accessible public spaces for the blind.
Craig Nichol, a member of the committee, states that bureaucracy often
stands in the way of the city fulfilling its obligations under the Ontario
Disabilities Act. “If you bring something to the City once ... they want you
to come back and elaborate on the issues, but you have to wait a long time.”
Nichol says that along with the amount of time it takes for the city to deal
with these issues, attitudes toward people with disabilities and the nature
of their activism also play a part in the problem. “The disability community
is not as vocal as other communities,” says Nichol. “We don’t have the same
economic pull or visibility as other groups. Within the disability community
a lot of people don’t have the inclination, time, or resources to get
involved. Often, their health dictates what they can do.” Visually impaired
people also face similar obstacles in mounting public protests. “In terms of
protest, the idea of crowds poses a problem for the visually impaired,” says
Nichol. “You end up hitting people with your cane.”
Trouble also arises when one segment of the disability community is used to
represent the whole. Nichol points to how the city installed ramps due to
demands made by one group of people with disabilities. However, these ramps
make it hard for the visually impaired to negotiate sidewalks. “The city put
this in place without thinking and to appease this one group.”
Boyd Hipfner currently sits as the visually impaired representative on the
Toronto Pedestrian Committee. This committee makes recommendations within
the city’s Works and Emergency Services Department which are then sent to
City Council for approval. Hipfner says that “to the extent that the
committee is made aware [of visually impaired issues] they are largely
sympathetic.” This committee is also responsible for getting the audible
crossing signals installed at some Toronto intersections.
Hipfner maintains there is not a lot of conflict with people with other
disabilities. He points to the approved recommendation that requires a 12mm
rise on sidewalk ramps that does not restrict wheelchairs yet is “cane
detectable” as evidence of this cooperation. Contractors are currently
supposed to adhere to these specifications, but Hipfner says “they don’t
always follow the code.”
In order to prevent situations where one solution causes another problem,
Nichol advocates for the creation of diverse committees and advocacy groups
that are made up of people with different disabilities, “so that our efforts
don’t cancel each other out.” The final item on his wish list is to see more
able-bodied citizens taking an interest in issues that affect the visually
impaired and other groups of citizens with disabilities and have the general
profile of the pedestrian raised more in the mass media. “I remember when
the weather was really bad here. I was listening to the radio and they were
interviewing people about what they were wearing to keep warm. There are so
many more issues that visually impaired people face in these conditions that
get no air time.” Hipfner would like to see the City adopt the CNIB Advocacy
Committee’s recommendation that all sidewalks on major streets have a 1.8
metre-wide unimpeded path. This would benefit both the visually impaired and
people using wheelchairs (and in fact everyone else). “If we have that, we
don’t care what else they put on the sidewalk.” The key is not to make
people zigzag around obstacles.
One of the luxuries of seeing lies in being seen. If you can see you are
recognized and regarded as a citizen. The street signs have been designed
for you. This magazine has been designed for you. But there are many
visually impaired people whose stories remain invisible. The maps they must
make in their minds to get from point A to point B do not make it into
official accounts. To see them as owners of public space might mean seeing
the city through new eyes.
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(c) 2005 Spacing Publishing
email: [log in to unmask]
by Tara Atluri
photo by Adam Krawesky
: : : : : : :
When most of us go for a walk, we walk with the privilege of sight. But for
Randy Firth, head of Communication, Education and Public Issues with the
Toronto District Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB), walking
this city’s public space is a source of daily frustration. Wet cement,
inaccessible traffic signs, silent TTC rides, unrepaired sidewalks,
bicycles, multiple cycle lights (advance greens), sharpened edges of transit
maps, and a host of other barriers turn city streets into daily obstacle
courses for the visually impaired. Firth states that one constant annoyance
comes from privately owned businesses putting up sandwich boards in the
middle of the road without thinking. These A-frames are quite literally a
slap in the face for Toronto’s blind community.
The Toronto Advocacy Committee with the CNIB has been working to change this
by lobbying the city to create more accessible public spaces for the blind.
Craig Nichol, a member of the committee, states that bureaucracy often
stands in the way of the city fulfilling its obligations under the Ontario
Disabilities Act. “If you bring something to the City once ... they want you
to come back and elaborate on the issues, but you have to wait a long time.”
Nichol says that along with the amount of time it takes for the city to deal
with these issues, attitudes toward people with disabilities and the nature
of their activism also play a part in the problem. “The disability community
is not as vocal as other communities,” says Nichol. “We don’t have the same
economic pull or visibility as other groups. Within the disability community
a lot of people don’t have the inclination, time, or resources to get
involved. Often, their health dictates what they can do.” Visually impaired
people also face similar obstacles in mounting public protests. “In terms of
protest, the idea of crowds poses a problem for the visually impaired,” says
Nichol. “You end up hitting people with your cane.”
Trouble also arises when one segment of the disability community is used to
represent the whole. Nichol points to how the city installed ramps due to
demands made by one group of people with disabilities. However, these ramps
make it hard for the visually impaired to negotiate sidewalks. “The city put
this in place without thinking and to appease this one group.”
Boyd Hipfner currently sits as the visually impaired representative on the
Toronto Pedestrian Committee. This committee makes recommendations within
the city’s Works and Emergency Services Department which are then sent to
City Council for approval. Hipfner says that “to the extent that the
committee is made aware [of visually impaired issues] they are largely
sympathetic.” This committee is also responsible for getting the audible
crossing signals installed at some Toronto intersections.
Hipfner maintains there is not a lot of conflict with people with other
disabilities. He points to the approved recommendation that requires a 12mm
rise on sidewalk ramps that does not restrict wheelchairs yet is “cane
detectable” as evidence of this cooperation. Contractors are currently
supposed to adhere to these specifications, but Hipfner says “they don’t
always follow the code.”
In order to prevent situations where one solution causes another problem,
Nichol advocates for the creation of diverse committees and advocacy groups
that are made up of people with different disabilities, “so that our efforts
don’t cancel each other out.” The final item on his wish list is to see more
able-bodied citizens taking an interest in issues that affect the visually
impaired and other groups of citizens with disabilities and have the general
profile of the pedestrian raised more in the mass media. “I remember when
the weather was really bad here. I was listening to the radio and they were
interviewing people about what they were wearing to keep warm. There are so
many more issues that visually impaired people face in these conditions that
get no air time.” Hipfner would like to see the City adopt the CNIB Advocacy
Committee’s recommendation that all sidewalks on major streets have a 1.8
metre-wide unimpeded path. This would benefit both the visually impaired and
people using wheelchairs (and in fact everyone else). “If we have that, we
don’t care what else they put on the sidewalk.” The key is not to make
people zigzag around obstacles.
One of the luxuries of seeing lies in being seen. If you can see you are
recognized and regarded as a citizen. The street signs have been designed
for you. This magazine has been designed for you. But there are many
visually impaired people whose stories remain invisible. The maps they must
make in their minds to get from point A to point B do not make it into
official accounts. To see them as owners of public space might mean seeing
the city through new eyes.
(c) 2005 Spacing Publishing
email: [log in to unmask]
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