The Chattanooga Department of Transportation announced the activation of the city’s first audible street signal that will aid people with visual impairments and enhance the safety of the intersection where it is installed. The City of Chattanooga is dedicated to making the streets safer and accessible for all users, whether they use assistive mobile devices or are living with a visual impairment.
Earlier this year Ryan Galloway contacted the City of Chattanooga to express the need for an accessible street signal.
Ryan has a visual impairment, and he noticed this type of signal did not exist in Chattanooga to help people with limited vision navigate crosswalks. The Department of Transportation worked with Ryan and determined the intersection of
Forest and Frazier Avenue on Chattanooga’s Northshore to be a good place for an accessible signal since it is a high-traffic area.
In order to make this intersection safer for people walking, biking and driving, the Transportation Department purchased the Polara system, and installed it Wednesday morning at Forest and Frazier. The signal assists people with visual impairments through digital audio messages that let them know the walk button has been pushed and when it is time to cross. When pushed, the message is “Wait.” Once the walk signal comes on, the message is “Walk light to cross [Frazier or Forest Avenue],” and a verbal countdown indicates the seconds remaining to clear the intersection.
“This is a great example of how the City of Chattanooga works every day to solve problems in our community,” said Blythe Bailey, administrator of the Chattanooga Department of Transportation. “Earlier this year, Mayor Berke accepted the USDOT Mayors’ Challenge for Safer Streets. One of the goals is to identify and address barriers for people of all ages and abilities. Through Ryan’s help, we are removing obstacles for people with visual impairments, while ensuring the safety of everyone on the road.”
Ryan Galloway is a former intern with the City of Chattanooga, and he graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga this Spring.
For more information on the USDOT Mayors’ Challenge, visit http://www.dot.gov/mayors-challenge.