Dear Colleagues, As a way of introducing the below thread, I have been sitting on this message for far too long after having committed myself to sharing it with you. Peggy Martinez has become a friend and is a member of our Seattle Washington area chapter. She is the author of the below comments offered to the Access Board sometime last summer. You might recognize Peggy by her family name, which she shares with her sister, Cathy Martinez who has spoken at NFB conventions in the past in her prior role at the U.S. Department of Labor and now working for Wells Fargo. In any case, Peggy is passionate about inserting the voice of the nation's blind into the fast evolving landscape of smart street development and shared spaces. She seeks collaboration from everyone in the blindness community interested and who shares her passion to get to work on this. You will find her contact information in her comments and please share your thoughts with members of this list. I tend to think we may have lagged over the years since the historically contentious debates over audible pedestrian signals in our responsibility to insert our expectations and to hold traffic engineers accountable. Thank you for giving Peggy's thoughts your attention. Maurice ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: peggy at creativeinclusion.us Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2017 09:36:33 -0700 Subject: FW: 4 Public Comment; Peggy Martinez To: mauriceperet at gmail.com Peggy Martinez Principal, Creative Inclusion, LLC 206.588.2012 peggy at creativeinclusion.us www.creativeinclusion.us First, thank you appointees and employees of the Access Board for your excellent work. My name is Peggy Martinez, I live in Seattle Washington, I am an advocate and business owner. My comments today pertain to the need for specific guidance for wayfinding and other treatments for people who are blind and sight-impaired regarding current trends in sidewalk and street design, new intersection design, protected bike lanes, large open spaces such as pavilions, transit facilities etc. As I understand, there is currently no official guidance for planners and designers to use when considering how best to make these spaces accessible specifically for wayfinding and orientation for people who are blind and sight-impaired. I believe the US Access Board along with organizations such as the American Council of the Blind, American Foundation for the Blind, National Federation of the Blind, the Association of Educators and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired, the orientation and mobility community, notable cross-disability experts and research entities along with the planning and design community should organize to create solutions so that people who are blind and sight-impaired can independently navigate these spaces safely and with confidence. Please let me know if I can provide further information and/or how I can be of help with this significant and complex request. I understand it will take considerable coordination and have begun communicating with the leadership of the blindness organizations to make my concerns and recommendations known. Along with accessible technology and the myriad of programs and services vrucial to the independence and self-sufficiency of people with disabilities, clearly defined wayfinding in our public spaces for people who are blind and sight-impaired are equally as important for full participation in all life's many opportunities. Thank you for accepting my comments. I would appreciate hearing back on any next steps that will be taken. Sincerely, Peggy Martinez