[Colorado-Talk] Call Rep. Office About 16th Street Mall Redesign

[Dan Burke]

Greetings all -

Doubtless we are all aware of the proposed redesign to the 16th Street
Mall that would take out all the curbs and fail to replace them with
adequate tactile differentiation between the sidewalks and the Mall
Shuttle lanes.  This will make the 16th Street Mall a lot less
accessible to blind people. A number of our members have been working
on this, attending meetings, writing letters, etc. You can help too.

Below is a letter sent to Rep. Diana DeGette’s office a couple of
weeks ago. We need to get members to call Jack Murphy at the local
office, especially members who live in her Congressional District,
which is pretty  much Denver and parts of various suburbs. We want her
to help us determine if the federal funds in the project are being
used appropriately when the proposal will quite likely make the 16th
Street Mall less accessible to blind people. Here’s the contact info:

Rep. DeGette District Office
Jack Murphy
Phone: (303) 844-4988

Say something like:

I am a member of the NFB and I am blind. I want Congresswoman DeGette
to help us ensure that the redesign of the 16th Street Mall is
accessible for blind people because federal funds are involved.

This is our own backyard guys. Let’s get a bunch of calls today and tomorrow!
Dan

_____________________________________________
From: Dan Burke
Sent: Thursday, September 5, 2019 3:00 PM

Submitted online.
# # # #

Dear Congresswoman DeGette -

I am writing on behalf of the National Federation of the Blind of
Colorado (NFBCO) and our allies to request your assistance regarding
the proposed redesign of the 16th Street Mall which, among other
redesign features,  would remove all curbing alongside the 16th Street
transit way, now primarily restricted to the Mall Shuttles. Thus, we
request an opportunity to meet with one of your local staff members to
discuss the matter further.

We believe the removal of the curbs to be a significant concern to
blind and low vision Mall-goers. While much of the area immediately
adjacent to the transit way (referred to by planners as an "amenity"
strip) will have plantings or vendors, the remainder will feature only
a strip of granite pavers, indistinct in color or texture, from the
concrete of the sidewalk and transit way surfaces. Blind travelers
using white canes rely on tactile features of any landscape to remain
oriented. In the case of walking along a sidewalk, we rely on curbs to
stay out of transit vehicle pathways, i.e. streets. Likewise, guide
dogs are trained to stop at curbs and other significant changes in
pavement and they are trained to guide around objects in less directed
verbally and or with hand signals to act otherwise.

Planners of the redesign know that this will present a problem, and
have responded to our concerns, expressed in writing and in a number
of public venues, with three quite patronizing potential solutions:

1.      They will provide training to blind Mall-goers on how to safely
navigate the mall;
2.      They will provide a tactile pathway on the main traffic areas of
the sidewalk so that blind people can simply follow one path from one
end of a block to the next; and
3.      If blind Mall-goers are in danger of wandering into the shuttle
transit way, the vendors along the amenity strip will protect and
prevent them from this danger.

All of these are of course ridiculous and insulting. Despite our input
over the past six months or so, the redesign plan remains unchanged.

Naturally, we are reaching out to mayor Hancock, as the City of Denver
is one of the partners. We are also reaching out to you because the
planning partners include the Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
which, we surmise, is providing federal funds for the project. The
project web site says the following:

"This phase of Mall design is part of a federal process as outlined by
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The NEPA effort is led
by the city and RTD, in partnership with the Downtown Denver
Partnership, the Downtown Denver Business Improvement District, the
Denver Urban Renewal Authority (DURA) and the Federal Transit
Administration." (found at
https://www.downtowndenver.com/initiative/16th-street-mall-partners-recommend-mall-design-expand-sidewalks-improve-pedestrian-safety/)

We cannot imagine that it is permissible to use federal funds to
eliminate all tactile warnings along the shuttle transit way. We want
the curbs, the most effective tactile warning system yet devised as
far as blind travelers are concerned, to remain as part of the 16th
Street Mall's landscape.

We look forward to a meeting at the earliest convenience of your
staff.  Contact me at dburke at cocenter.org, 406-546-8546 or
303-778-1130 x2013, to arrange an appointment for us with someone in
the Denver office. We appreciate your consideration of this matter,
and stand ready to provide any further information we can at your
request.

Best regards,

Dan Burke, NFBCO Legislative Coordinator



-- 
Dan Burke

National Federation of the Blind of Colorado Legislative Coordinator

President, NFB of Denver

"Blindness is not what holds you back.  You can live the life you want!"

My Cell:  406.546.8546
Twitter:  @DallDonal