For several months, I have been working with the city to help improve what is called the truncated domes. These are the raised domes that are utilized for the blind community. Their primary use is to tell us when to stop before a street crossing. The difficulty is that some in the blind community use these as a form of direction. This is not good, as some individuals will end up in the middle of an intersection.
After contacting many people, I was finally connected to the individuals who have an influence on making changes. When I was connected to a few individuals – city officials – they later told me that they were super excited to receive emails/calls about truncated domes. When working with the sidewalk specialist, he knew exactly what I was calling about and has seen the problematic situation that I was describing. It was the best connection to have been made.
Since then, from a report that was provided to me by the ADA, the sidewalk specialist has implemented a few different things to see if it can help the blind community. Pictures are below. He asked that the blind community come to help test these options out prior to seeking implementation in Kansas City.
I am so thankful for the people who I have been connected to. I keep running into them at different events. These individuals and city officials have gone out of their way to hear more, but also to be aware of how to help the blind community. I am so thankful to be on this journey!
Also, through these connections, during a lunch break before my first panel speaking opportunity, I spoke with a councilman regarding the difficulty for people with disabilities to apply for jobs with the job requirement of “must have a driver’s license”. There are many who do not drive, but are quite capable of successful employment. We talked about how the wording can be used for those jobs that truly need this as part of their requirements. This is still a work in progress, but… it is progress. This is helping to open the doors for people with disabilities to seek employment and not be disqualified by a robot telling us that we cannot apply due to a lack of a driver’s license.
Lessons to be learned – SPEAK UP! City officials do not always understand the needs of different disabilities – this is hard to know for anyone. I have received positive collaboration and genuine interest in my concerns. This has opened many doors and opportunities to advocate for individuals with disabilities. These connections are how we advocate.
Written by Halley Korff, Blind & Low Vision Coordinator at The Whole Person.
