Talking device to help visually impaired navigate St. George Ferry Terminal

Staten Island Advance, NY, USA
Saturday, October 27, 2007

Talking device to help visually impaired navigate St. George Ferry Terminal 

By MAURA YATES

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The gentle sound of a chirping canyon wren may add 
soothing pastoral ambience to the St. George Ferry Terminal, but to the 
visually impaired, it's the sound of independence. 

The recorded bird calls lead the blind and those with low visibility to the 
brand new Talking Kiosk in the center of the terminal's concourse. 
 
Unveiled yesterday, the device, which resembles an ATM attached to the wall 
between the steps to the Staten Island Railway and the Water Edge Cafe, offers 
a guide to the terminal to help people with disabilities better navigate the 
building and bus ramps. 

A touch screen provides a three-dimensional floor plan of the building, which 
users can touch to hear audible narrations of each place and how to get there. 
The visually impaired can find the kiosk by listening for the bird sounds, 
which are a universally understood sign of amenities for the visually impaired, 
explained the kiosk's designer, Steve Landau, of Touch Graphics Inc, the 
company that customized the kiosk. 

The new kiosk "really demonstrates a creative solution that gives us all the 
opportunity to be as independent as possible," said Commissioner Matthew 
Sapolin of the Mayor's Office of People with Disabilities, who helped fire up 
the new system yesterday with Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette 
Sadik-Khan, Small Business Services Commissioner Rob Walsh, Borough President 
JamesMolinaro, and City Councilman Michael McMahon. Devices such as the new 
kiosk give the visually impaired "independence and empowerment to go about and 
do things on your own without having to ask," said Richard Holborow, a 
consultant who worked on the project. 

Consultant Ellen Rubin said she tried out a similar device at the Museum of 
Science in Boston. "I went in all by myself and I could find everything," she 
said. 

Sadik-Khan said ferry employees have been trained to help guide those with 
disabilities through the terminals, but the new technology will help give all 
passengers an even safer and more comfortable trip. 

The system includes audio narration, video captions, images and sound effects, 
to make the information helpful to all people with a range of disabilities. 

The kiosk was made possible with support from Small Business Services' ShopABLE 
NYC program, which makes shopping more accessible for those with disabilities, 
and the West Brighton Local Development Corp. 

Plans are in the works to install another kiosk in the Whitehall Ferry 
Terminal. 

Maura Yates covers transportation news for the Advance. She may be reached at 
myates@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx 


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