Sightless But Far From Helpless

By MODOU NYONG

Over 100 visually impaired and blind students from the New York Institute for Special Education in the Bronx marched along Pelham Parkway on Thursday, calling on city officials to install more audible traffic signals.

The march, dubbed White Cane Safety Day, highlighted the cane as a potent symbol of independence to sightless and partially blind people , said Kim Benisatto, operations manager at the institute.

The demonstration was staged to remind the public that, “out there, hey, I can do whatever you do, because I have my cane. I can cross streets, I can go shopping, I can take busses, I can take the subway. I can do whatever you do because of my cane.”

Erick Rosso, a senior at the institute agreed, saying the white cane does more than reminds people around them that they are blind. “The white cane is not just to help us get around, it also shows our independence.” Rosso added.

The march, said mobility teacher Tom Yoder, took the students first to experience a newly installed audible traffic signal at the intersection of Pelham Parkway and Williamsbridge Road, before marching towards White Plains Road displaying posters. Yoder said his institution has been writing to the City Department of Transportation for many years asking for the installation of audible signals at busy intersections close to their campus. And last week, Yoder said, two of the nearby intersections were fitted with the devices.

Angela Villota, a junior at the institute and vice president of the student government, said more audible signals are needed around the city, “especially in Manhattan.”

Yoder said New York City lags behind other cities in the country in such installations. “Small cities in the country, every [traffic] light has an audible signal,” Yoder said.

Rosso stressed that blind people not only rely on canes To move around, but also on sound and contact. “They are pretty helpful. I recommend them everywhere, at every busy intersection,” he said.