Comment from Schott, Melinda

I am an individual who spent the first ten years of life without eyesight and am now an Orientation & Mobility Specialist who teaches people who have low-vision or are blind how to travel safely. Approximately 2.5 million people in the United States are “legally blind” – meaning that even with corrective lenses, they have less than 20/200 visual acuity or that their visual field is 20 degrees or less, regardless of acuity. The leading causes of vision impairment and blindness in the US are primarily age related eye diseases. Approximately 240,000 new cases of low vision and blindness occur each year in the U.S. With the aging of the U.S. population, that number is expected to double over the next 25 years. With this said, the population of people in the U.S. who are visually impaired is going to rise—period. This growing population needs to have APS Installations that are continually being improved upon for their safety and ability to travel independently—not reduced modifications for the sake of budget saving. These people work, raise families, go to higher education institutions as professors and students, have medical appointments, and so on. I urge you to consider the long-term ramifications of making cost-benefit analysis regarding accessible pedestrian signals, especially when the need for progression in the engineering is pivotal in addressing the growing population of visually impaired Americans. We need to move forward in our journey toward recognizing and supporting our visually impaired population, rather than falling backward for the sake of “cost-analysis.” For many visually impaired travelers, as well as others with disabilities, a well-designed and installed APS could be the difference in being able to travel to work or other destinations necessary for an independent life. I consider it our duty as citizens of the U.S. to fulfill the mandates of the ADA, and speaking today contributes toward this goal.