Members of VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 visually-impaired community have safety concerns about the Pandora bike lanes.
The biggest problem surrounds the bus stops along Pandora Avenue, which are stationed on medians on the roadway side of the bike lanes. While raised crosswalks are in place, people with visual impairment find it difficult to know when itB次元官网网址檚 safe to cross the lanes to the bus stop, without assistance.
B次元官网网址淚 was standing on the bus stop island, waiting and waiting and thought B次元官网网址極K, it must be alright to go,B次元官网网址� and I stepped out and a bike passed right in front of me,B次元官网网址� recalled Linda Bartram. B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 hear the bikes until theyB次元官网网址檙e literally in front of me.B次元官网网址�
Bartram, who is visually impaired, chairs the City of VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 Accessibility Working Group, a collection of volunteers who help guide City policy as a way to make services, infrastructure and facilities more accessible.
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Her experience on Pandora was part of a demonstration to Brad Dellebuur, the CityB次元官网网址檚 manager of transporation and infrastructure design. Bartram and a partially sighted friend experimented with crossing in both directions, using both a guide dog and a white cane to test how people would react. With her dog, Bartram said, she waited long enough that she could hear the bus passing.
B次元官网网址淚f I had actually wanted to catch it, I would have missed it,B次元官网网址� she said.
When she used her cane, she eventually heard a cyclist joke that they were B次元官网网址渁t a standoff,B次元官网网址� because he had stopped but didnB次元官网网址檛 know to tell her to go.
The demonstration happened after the lanes were being constructed, because the working group wasnB次元官网网址檛 formed until after planning decisions for the lanes had been made.
B次元官网网址淲e were only asked to comment on the bike lane accessibility to the bus stops, and as a blind person I couldnB次元官网网址檛 ascertain that it would be in the middle of the road,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e been told itB次元官网网址檚 too late to do much about it in terms of changing things; but obviously this group feels something does need to be done.B次元官网网址�
Dellebuur realized there was a problem after seeing the demonstration.
B次元官网网址淲e came to the conclusion that we need to put some additional markings, which weB次元官网网址檝e incorporated in Fort Street at mid-block crosswalks,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 just some additional information for cyclists that there is a legal requirement to stop.B次元官网网址�
The additional B次元官网网址渃rossing aheadB次元官网网址� signs are intended to warn cyclists that pedestrians may be ahead, and while they were built into the Fort Street design, they have yet to be placed on Pandora Avenue.
Bartram said the additional signage would help, but that an ideal solution would be some kind of auditory signal that could be heard by the visually impaired.
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The difficulty spurred the Canadian Federation of the Blind to come forward with a complaint against the City with the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal. Oriano Belusic, vice-president of the federation, said the CityB次元官网网址檚 actions have put blind peoplesB次元官网网址� lives in danger.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 like playing Russian roulette,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲ithout eye contact, you really donB次元官网网址檛 know if youB次元官网网址檙e gonna get whacked by a bike.B次元官网网址�
Belusic said a visually impaired friend has had his cane run over several times, and added that he has personally encountered many near-misses. B次元官网网址淚f you have a close-call experience with a guide dog, it could easily ruin their confidence to work, if they survive.B次元官网网址�
In its claim, the Federation is asking the City to rip out the floating bus stop islands and allow buses to pick up riders from the safety of the sidewalk, noting that more signage is not enough.
B次元官网网址淚n order for it to be safe, both parties need to be active in that safety,B次元官网网址� Belusic said. B次元官网网址淚f I put my safety solely in the cyclistB次元官网网址檚 hands, thatB次元官网网址檚 not good enough, it puts my life and my dogB次元官网网址檚 life at risk.B次元官网网址�
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Dellebuur couldnB次元官网网址檛 comment specifically on the case, but said the City is open minded.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e always open to further design changes and refinements,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e happy to sit down and talk to everyone. We all want the same thing: safe, functional, enjoyable use of public space.B次元官网网址�
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