San Francisco Accessible Pedestrian Traffic Signals (APS)
Goldstein, Demchak, Baller, Borgen & Dardarian, along with solo practitioner
Lainey Feingold, represent the California Council for the Blind, the LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, the Independent Living Resource Center San Francisco, and an individual with visual impairments in negotiations that led to a landmark settlement agreement with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency ("SFMTA") requiring the installation of Accessible Pedestrian Signals ("APS"). Under the settlement agreement, the first of its kind in the country, the City has committed at least $1.6 million through 2009 to install APS at all crosswalks at a minimum of 80 intersections. The state-of-the art signaling devices assist visually impaired pedestrians by emitting a rapid ticking sound in tandem with the familiar "WALK" symbol displayed for sighted pedestrians. Other accessibility features include locator tones and vibrating pushbuttons to help those with visual or hearing impairments locate the devices, and the ability to provide helpful audible information such as street names when pedestrians press the pushbutton for one second or longer. The Agreement also commits the City to seek additional funding for more APS installations, to develop a policy for San Francisco residents to request accessible pedestrian signals at other intersections, and to continue to work with representatives of San Francisco’s blind community to improve the safety of City street crossings for persons with disabilities.