[passcoalition] FW: Summary of Yesterday's Meeting with PASS
- From: Karen Gourgey <karen.gourgey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "'passcoalition@xxxxxxxxxxxxx'" <passcoalition@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:38:28 +0000
Hi All,
Below is the summary of our meeting that I have just sent to Matt. Note that
Margaret Newman already has our proposal for modifying the prioritization tool,
as I copied her when I sent it to MOPD on Tuesday evening. No word from her in
response to my call.
Karen
Karen Luxton Gourgey Ed.D., Director
Computer Center for Visually Impaired People
Baruch College, City University of New York
One Bernard Baruch Way, Box H-0648
New York, NY 10010
Phone: (646) 312-1426
Fax: (646) 312-1421
http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/ccvip/
-----Original Message-----
From: Karen Gourgey
Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2011 1:59 PM
To: Sapolin, Matthew
Subject: Summary of Yesterday's Meeting with PASS
Dear Matt,
Thanks very much for meeting with us yesterday; I think it was very useful, and
PASS is looking forward to seeing some real progress. Incidentally, Ken
called me this morning to say that the DOT rep at his Community board meeting
last night, announced that they had decided to put APS's on all four corners
at 7th and 23rd. Hmm, maybe they're starting to get the message?? Anyway,
here's the summary:
The meeting focused on three areas: presentation and discussion of the modified
prioritization tool for use in New York City; Access and safety difficulties
for travelers with vision loss expected if the planned reconstruction at 7th
avenue and 23rd street proceeds without APS's and other treatments; Next steps
for PASS and the Mayor's office.
Prioritization tool: The scope and purpose of the original tool were explained
and then the proposed modifications were presented along with their rationales.
Matt appeared to embrace the suggested changes. He will show them to his
architect and then send the modified tool to DOT with the strong recommendation
that they adopt it as their way for prioritizing APS requests in all boroughs
except Staten Island, for which the original tool seems to be sufficient.
Twenty Third Street and 7th Gene and Annalyn presented the problem of bulbouts,
undetectable medians, and problematic turn lanes. No one was clear as to
exactly what if any vehicular use might be made of the planned pedestrian
plaza. We pointed out that this underscored the need for PASS to speak
regularly with a responsible party from DOT. Printouts of the 23rd and 7th
slide show created by DOT for the 7th avenue and 23rd street project were left
with Matt, they included drawings by Gene as to what would be needed to fix the
problem. These will be delivered to DOT with a request that they take immediate
action.
Here are the major concerns we detailed about the 23 Street reconfiguration:
- APS properly placed at all crosswalks and at the new median pedestrian
refuges
- Properly installed detectable warning surfaces for all curb cuts and at the
cut-throughs at the new median pedestrian refuges
- Signal timing that allows for appropriate pedestrian clearance intervals for
all crosswalks using the 3.5 foot per second measure Next Steps 1. . Matt
committed to getting PASS a liaison from DOT; our first interaction with that
individual will be the conversation relating to 7th avenue and 23rd street
pointing out the changes that are needed and requesting that they be
incorporated into the plan.
2. We discussed the immediate and urgent need for training for traffic
engineers with experts such as Janet Barlow and/or Lukas Franck. Matt will
strongly recommend this to DOT. (And, we have contact info for both, if
needed.)
3. Matt will call Karen within four business days with the name of the DOT
liaison. (Matt, you mentioned Friday, but I just stuck the four day thing in
for a little flexibility if needed.) Matt will also reach out to the
DFTACommissioner, in hopes of adding aging to the interested and supportive
parties.
4. PASS will go through the list of requested APS's from DOT and indicate those
with highest preference among members.
5. Matt's office will send flyer to its mailing list, soliciting other
requests. Karen will edit flyer and send it back to Matthew Puvogel for
distribution by Friday, February 18.
6. Matt will alert DOT to the fact that we need a searchable, text-based "map"
indicating bike lane locations throughout the city, to be used by any
pedestrian, when planning a route.
That's the end of the summary as I have it. If you have any questions, write
or call me at 646 312-1426.
Thanks again, Matt, very much for your time and commitment on this issue..
All Best,
Karen
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