[nfbwatlk] Blind resident takes council to task for 'indistinguishable' signals

[Carl Jarvis]

Blind resident takes council to task for 'indistinguishable' signals

By Diane Urbani de la Paz, Peninsula Daily News

SEQUIM - Kyle Parrish said he's been telling Sequim city officials for years that downtown's chirping, cuckooing pedestrian signals don't work right.

He's called the city manager's office and Public Works Department and met with staffers.

He admits that he "got really hot," and raised his voice out of frustration during a meeting a year ago.

Monday night, he tried a different tactic.

Parrish, 54, and Jed, his service dog, went to the podium at the City Council meeting to speak for the Visually Impaired Persons of Sequim, a 35-member
organization he said the city "is throwing away."

The audible traffic signals "are in disrepair and neglected," Parrish told the council.

"People who can't see well, and the elderly, are in jeopardy."

In a later interview, Parrish said some Washington Street signals are muffled and distorted, while others emit no sound at all.

"This is the first I've heard of it," said City Manager Bill Elliott.

Mayor Walt Schubert said he, too, hadn't known about a problem.

But Public Works Director James Bay had an answer: They're soon to be fixed.

"We're replacing some of the speakers right now. We've ordered the new ones," so the dysfunctional signals can be repaired, Bay said.

Roundabouts safety
But Parrish also said the city's roundabouts on Sequim-Dungeness Way and East Washington Street present a serious hazard to pedestrians.

They have neither crosswalks nor audible signals for pedestrians, and many visually impaired or frail people cannot navigate them safely.

"To try to get across [a roundabout] is suicide. I won't try that again," said Parrish.

"We live in a retirement community. So even if a person has vision, [he or she may] have mobility issues. I'm sorry, people can't jump out of the way of
a moving car."

Bay could only acknowledge that the present roundabouts don't have crosswalks.

But he said that one to be built near Costco at Ninth Avenue and East Washington Street will have them.

"And it will be lit," Bay added, though he said nothing about whether audible signals will be installed.

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Blind resident takes council to task for 'indistinguishable' signals
 
By Diane Urbani de la Paz, Peninsula Daily News
 
SEQUIM - Kyle Parrish said he's been telling Sequim city officials for years that downtown's chirping, cuckooing pedestrian signals don't work right.
 
He's called the city manager's office and Public Works Department and met with staffers.
 
He admits that he "got really hot," and raised his voice out of frustration during a meeting a year ago.
 
Monday night, he tried a different tactic.
 
Parrish, 54, and Jed, his service dog, went to the podium at the City Council meeting to speak for the Visually Impaired Persons of Sequim, a 35-member
organization he said the city "is throwing away."
 
The audible traffic signals "are in disrepair and neglected," Parrish told the council.
 
"People who can't see well, and the elderly, are in jeopardy."
 
In a later interview, Parrish said some Washington Street signals are muffled and distorted, while others emit no sound at all.
 
"This is the first I've heard of it," said City Manager Bill Elliott.
 
Mayor Walt Schubert said he, too, hadn't known about a problem.
 
But Public Works Director James Bay had an answer: They're soon to be fixed.
 
"We're replacing some of the speakers right now. We've ordered the new ones," so the dysfunctional signals can be repaired, Bay said.
 
Roundabouts safety
But Parrish also said the city's roundabouts on Sequim-Dungeness Way and East Washington Street present a serious hazard to pedestrians.
 
They have neither crosswalks nor audible signals for pedestrians, and many visually impaired or frail people cannot navigate them safely.
 
"To try to get across [a roundabout] is suicide. I won't try that again," said Parrish.
 
"We live in a retirement community. So even if a person has vision, [he or she may] have mobility issues. I'm sorry, people can't jump out of the way of
a moving car."
 
Bay could only acknowledge that the present roundabouts don't have crosswalks.
 
But he said that one to be built near Costco at Ninth Avenue and East Washington Street will have them.
 
"And it will be lit," Bay added, though he said nothing about whether audible signals will be installed.