[passcoalition] Re: My concerns regarding 7th Avenue/23rd street safety improvements
- From: Annalyn <acourtneyb@xxxxxxx>
- To: passcoalition@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 8 Apr 2011 14:27:37 -0400 (EDT)
Yes, you may use what I wrote to the list. Feel free to send as is or ask Gene
to polish it up.
Annalyn
-----Original Message-----
From: Karen Gourgey <karen.gourgey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: 'passcoalition@xxxxxxxxxxxxx' <passcoalition@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Fri, Apr 8, 2011 2:14 pm
Subject: [passcoalition] Re: My concerns regarding 7th Avenue/23rd street
safety improvements
Annalyn,
With your permission, I’d like to forward the part of your message that deals
specifically with their plan to Forgione. I could tell her that we require a
response to these points. Would that be ok?
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/
From: passcoalition-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:passcoalition-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Annalyn
Sent: Friday, April 08, 2011 1:55 PM
To: passcoalition@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [passcoalition] Re: My concerns regarding 7th Avenue/23rd street
safety improvements
There are no detectable warning surfaces, as in the truncated domes, at any of
the 4 corners. A few of the ramps are "ribbed" for lack of a better term. The
subway platforms at 23rd and 7th and 23rd and 6th don't have detectable warning
strips either, but that's another matter for another day.
I have two major concerns. The first is the placement of the APS. Having an
APS on each corner does not mean that each crosswalk will have an APS. There
is no detail regarding how each pole and APS will be placed or which crosswalks
will have accessible information.
My second and larger concern is the issue of what the plan calls a "transit
plaza" in 7th Avenue on the southeast corner. The name transit plaza suggests
this is a place where people will stand and wait for the bus. Given the
placement of this transit plaza and the current bus lines through the area, it
makes no sense. Looking at the plan it appears that the traffic island is
sitting in a bulb out. If that is the case then a blind person walking from
river to river along 23rd Street will encounter bike lanes on 9th and 1st
Avenues, a pedestrian plaza at Broadway/Fifth Avenue and now a bulb out at 7th
Avenue. How does a blind person determine what lays beyond the curb and where
to stand while preparing to cross? The answer will require thought and
discussion. Telling a blind person to stick to 24th street is not the correct
answer.
I was at Selis this morning. There are white marking on the street indicating
where the traffic islands will be placed. Technically speaking, the work has
already started.
Annalyn
-----Original Message-----
From: Gene Bourquin DHA <oandmhk@xxxxxxx>
To: PASS listserv <passcoalition@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Fri, Apr 8, 2011 12:21 pm
Subject: [passcoalition] Re: FW: Phone Message regarding 7th Avenue/23rd street
safety improvements
I do not want to be relentlessly negative, nor do I think we should get angry
without a proper and effective response, but from my reading of this they did
not pay attention to a single one of our requests.
BTW, apologies for my typos. Typing on an iPad makes my errors even my
frequent than usual.
Gene
Dr. Eugene A Bourquin
_____________________________
DHA, COMS, CI & CT, CLVT
Support deafblind children in Guatemala!
Go to www.FRIENDSofFUNDAL.org
Visit: http://www.bourquinconsulting.com/
From: karen.gourgey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: passcoalition@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [passcoalition] Re: FW: Phone Message regarding 7th Avenue/23rd street
safety improvements
Date: Fri, 8 Apr 2011 16:13:30 +0000
The other piece of good news is that she has expressed in writing that she
looks forward to working with us on safety concerns at this and other
locations, so maybe, we could actually have a conversation with her once we’ve
confirmed our issues.
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/
From: passcoalition-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:passcoalition-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Gene Bourquin DHA
Sent: Friday, April 08, 2011 12:08 PM
To: PASS listserv
Subject: [passcoalition] Re: FW: Phone Message regarding 7th Avenue/23rd street
safety improvements
First impressions:
- they did not response to all the concerns, in particular that curb cuts,
median cuts, and APS alignment.
- the APS installations seems to be neither optimal nor best-practices, but
with what they have provided it is very unclear what will actually happen. If
the new APS will be "at the corners" on new poles, this means two APS on each
pole. This means they cannot possibly be at the crosswalk edges furthest from
the center of the intersections. Nor will they align with the median
cut-throughs. And two APS on pone pole can lead to confusion about which
street to cross. They will probably add the spoken message, but that only
helps travelers already familiar with the intersection. Getting from the APS
ped button to the actual place to cross might be very difficult.
- the DOT keeps touting shorter crossing distances, but obvious this cannot
happen for blind pedestrians on the north, and possibly the south, crosswalks,
since APS will not be installed there.
-curb cuts will not be fixed or retrofitted with detectable warnings. This is
unfortunate. Some crosswalks have the cut are the apex, some at a reasonable
place, and others have no curb cuts. There are no detectable warning surfaces
at all. Annalyn, can you confirm this?
The one piece of good news is the pedestrian clearance interval, which will
apparently be sufficient for blind and low vision travelers to cross and exit
the intersection.
These are only my initial reaction and we all should take a closer look.
Gene
Dr. Eugene A Bourquin
_____________________________
DHA, COMS, CI & CT, CLVT
Support deafblind children in Guatemala!
Go to www.FRIENDSofFUNDAL.org
Visit: http://www.bourquinconsulting.com/
From: karen.gourgey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: passcoalition@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [passcoalition] FW: Phone Message regarding 7th Avenue/23rd street
safety improvements
Date: Fri, 8 Apr 2011 15:37:13 +0000
Here’s their response. We can all check it out at the same time.
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/
From: Forgione, Margaret [mailto:mforgione@xxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Friday, April 08, 2011 11:32 AM
To: Karen Gourgey
Subject: RE: Phone Message regarding 7th Avenue/23rd street safety improvements
So sorry. Here it is.
From: Karen Gourgey [mailto:karen.gourgey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Friday, April 08, 2011 11:11 AM
To: Forgione, Margaret
Subject: RE: Phone Message regarding 7th Avenue/23rd street safety improvements
DearCommissioner Forgione,
Thanks for your message. There is no attachment with it. Could you please
resend?
Thanks very much.
Karen Gourgey
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/
From: Forgione, Margaret [mailto:mforgione@xxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2011 2:15 PM
To: Karen Gourgey
Cc: Chattergoon, Colleen
Subject: FW: Phone Message regarding 7th Avenue/23rd street safety improvements
Please see attached and let me know if you would like to discuss this further.
I can be reached at (212) 839-6210. Note, this also was sent to Matthew
Sapolin. Thanks.
From: Karen Gourgey [mailto:karen.gourgey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Friday, April 01, 2011 5:00 PM
To: Chattergoon, Colleen; Nancy Miller; Joyce Carrico; Mike Godino; Matthew
Sapolin; GENE BOURQUIN; Annalyn Barbier
Cc: Ann DeShazo; Betsy Fabricant; Roxsonne Simms
Subject: RE: Phone Message regarding 7th Avenue/23rd street safety improvements
Hello:
I am Dr. Karen Gourgey, Chair of the New York City Coalition for Accessible and
Safe Streets, (PASS.) PASS has been in contact with Ms. Margaret Newman and
others in the Department of Transportation to express our grave concern with
the lack of accessible pedestrian signals throughout the City, and the lack of
necessary accommodations such as detectable warnings at bulb outs to alert
blind and visually impaired pedestrians that they have reached the point where
a vehicular way meets a pedestrian surface such as a sidewalk or median. As
part of our work, we were given the presentation of the planned improvements to
the 23rd street and 7th avenue intersection. We had serious concerns and we
shared them with Commissioner Sapolin’s office, so that they could be
communicated to DOT. We were very disturbed when we learned yesterday that our
recommendations had not been taken into account at all and that the redesign
had not changed.
PASS is an advocacy group of people who are blind and visually impaired,
agencies who work with visually impaired and blind individuals, and
professionals who teach orientation and mobility and who are superbly qualified
to assist DOT, so that pedestrian safety for people who are blind and visually
impaired can be maximized.
PASS is not the official representative of the tenants at 23rd street, though
their association is a member of our coalition. I would be pleased to speak
with you if I can be of help. And, if you can be helpful in encouraging your
department to take our recommendations into account, that would be extremely
helpful. It is imperative that work not begin on this project until these
recommendations are considered, and, we very much hope, implemented.
Sincerely,
Karen Gourgey
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/
From: Chattergoon, Colleen [mailto:cchattergoon@xxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Friday, April 01, 2011 4:26 PM
To: Nancy Miller; Joyce Carrico; Mike Godino; Matthew Sapolin; GENE BOURQUIN;
Annalyn Barbier
Cc: Ann DeShazo; Karen Gourgey; Betsy Fabricant; Roxsonne Simms
Subject: RE: Phone Message regarding 7th Avenue/23rd street safety improvements
I am a bit confused with the tone of your email. I would greatly appreciate if
you can direct me to the appropriate person with whom I should contact.
Thank you!
From: Nancy Miller [mailto:nmiller@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Friday, April 01, 2011 4:18 PM
To: Chattergoon, Colleen; Joyce Carrico; Mike Godino; Matthew Sapolin; GENE
BOURQUIN; Annalyn Barbier
Cc: Nancy Miller; Ann DeShazo; karen.gourgey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; Betsy Fabricant;
Roxsonne Simms
Subject: Re: Phone Message regarding 7th Avenue/23rd street safety improvements
April 1, 2011,
To Ms. Colleen Chattergoon,
Please be aware that you should be contacting and coordinating with the PASS
Coalition. You should not be contacting VISIONS staff. We do not represent the
tenants in the building at 135 W. 23rd Street. They have a tenants association
and the President is Joyce Carrico.
The group in NYC that is working on accessible pedestrian signals and street
accommodations for people with vision loss is the PASS Coalition. Karen Gourgey
who is involved with the Coalition and others are cc'd on this email.
You have not fulfilled your obligation to communicate by emailing a caseworker
at VISIONS. Please stop emailing Rocky Simms.
Nancy D. Miller, LMSW
Executive Director/CEO
VISIONS/Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired
500 Greenwich Street, 3rd floor
New York, New York 10013
212-625-1616 ext. 117
nmiller@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Apr 1, 2011, at 3:43 PM, Chattergoon, Colleen wrote:
Ann,
Thanks for the information! I will be in touch with Ms. Miller on scheduling a
site meeting once the improvements are completed.
From: Ann DeShazo [mailto:adeshazo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Friday, April 01, 2011 3:47 PM
To: Chattergoon, Colleen
Cc: 'Nancy Miller'; karen.gourgey@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; 'Betsy Fabricant'; 'Roxsonne
Simms'
Subject: Phone Message regarding 7th Avenue/23rd street safety improvements
Hi Colleen,
Thank you for your recent message regarding the updates of the safety
improvement project. I wanted to take this opportunity to inform you that
Rocky Simms is not the contact person for VISIONS, the Pass Coalition and she
does not represent the tenants here at Selis Manor.
If you would like to keep us informed and let us know how the project is going
you will need to contact Nancy Miller, Executive Director/CEO of VISIONS. All
meetings and discussions should take place with her. You can contact her at
(212) 625-1616 ext. 117.
Thank you
Ann De Shazo, LMSW
Director of VISIONS at Selis Manor
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copying, use or distribution of the information included in this message and
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Thank you.
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