Judge’s remedial order puts City of Chicago on path to install accessible pedestrian signals

CHICAGO (WGN) — Kathy Austin and her guide dog, Rowen, navigate the streets of Chicago together, but it can often be a harrowing experience due to the lack of accessible pedestrian signals in the city.

“It’s too difficult to cross down here with all the noise going on around us. You can hear, and it’s difficult to hear the traffic,” Austin said. “It’s terrifying. I know one person who has gotten hit in a crosswalk without a signal.”

Austin, a blind resident of Chicago, isn’t alone in being able to recount instances when those like her were put in harm’s way by not having the right assistance traversing pedestrian crosswalks. Jeanne Johnson, another blind resident of the city, shared similar sentiments to those expressed by her.

“I’ve had a lot of close calls. There are times when I know I have the white walking guy and people aren’t paying attention,” Johnson said. “I’ve been almost hit on several occasions just trying to cross the street.”

As of Wednesday, only 3% of signalized intersections in Chicago have accessible pedestrian signals (APS), which are meant to help visually impaired pedestrians cross the road. Since there are so few intersections have APS in a city as large as Chicago, a group of blind residents filed a class-action lawsuit against the city.

“The case was brought under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which is the part of the ADA that applies to public entities, state and local governments,” said Rachel Weisberg, an attorney with Disability Rights Advocates (DRA). “We also brought this case under Section 504, of the Rehabilitation Act.”

DRA attorneys were in court Wednesday, where they reviewed a judge’s remedial order that will require the city to install APS devices at 71% of its signalized intersections in ten years, and get to 100% compliance in 15 years.

“We’re way behind,” Weisberg said. “And Chicago is a first-class, incredible city, and everyone who lives here deserves to be able to safely and independently navigate our pedestrian signals.”

While the remedial order serves as a sign of progress in Chicago, blind residents like Austin and Johnson still expressed a blend of disappointment and optimism.

“These should be in place already,” Johnson said. “Ten years is a nice pad for them, but I think it’s too long.”

“You go to any other cities, and many of them already have every intersection already equipped with these APS signals,” Austin said. “So, it’s a long time coming. Hopefully, it will happen quickly.”