"BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP" says the corner.

[Ted Pole]

What is the fuggin deal with the new crosswalk in downtown S'pol????

The loud and incessant chirping. The shout of "WAIT!" when you press the button to cross the street, and then the garbled "Sphishgrf North Main Street, North Main Street".

Am I in downtown Berkeley or the street scenes of "Blade Runner" ("Cross now! Cross Now!")?

I'm guessing it is some new government-compliant Pedestrian Containment Protocol geared for the hearing impaired, but DAMN! It is loud, unending, harsh and annoying and will definitely keep me away from the shops on that end of Main Street.

Who thought this would be a good idea and did they even bother to audition it or the impact it would make on humans walking down the street?

[Imagery]

May you never suffer the fate of going blind, as you will have to re-think your position.
The crosswalks are becoming compliant for the visually impaired, which I don't believe to be a bad thing. To be so overly sensitive as to avoid an entire shopping district makes you close-minded and look foolish.

Just my .02 (adjusted for inflation)

[Ted Pole]

Well, you've shed some light as to why it exists. Thanks.

My argument was about the aural aesthetics of it. It could still serve its function to the blind without the grinding harshness of the sound. The blind aren't stupid. Nor do they need to suffer an environment in which the audio pleasures of an outdoor public space aren't completely destroyed by a seemingly one-size-fits-all approach to civic planning. What is necessary in a busy urban space like Berkeley may not be in the quieter climes of Sebastopol. If there are, in fact, options and settings to adjust for the particulars of place in this system, it seems that they have been overlooked, ignored or simply turned up to eleven because more is better when it comes to compliance.

I have no idea how or even if you utilize the shops and sidewalks of that end of Main Street, but I invite you to go there and try to hang out anywhere near the crosswalk in question for longer than a couple of minutes. Maybe attempt a conversation with someone. Perhaps your sensitivies to noise are not as high as mine, but I'd be interested to read what others, particularly blind folks, have to say about this recent change.

[theindependenteye]

Elizabeth here --

It sure is up to 11. And when it yelled "wait" at me I jumped a foot. I understand the function but am perplexed about the form. I've heard plenty of chirping crossing signs, but never before one that comes at you with the force of a pterodactyl. Does the bugger have a volume adjustment feature? Would it be possible to get a non-sighted volunteer to stand there and give an opinion about an effective volume?

[tomcat]

I haven't had the chance to experience this crosswalk noise from hell yet, but I have talked to a worker in a shop nearby and her opinion is that it is ridiculously loud and obnoxious. It is driving the workers crazy and the owners of nearby shops are quite upset. Customers have walked out of stores saying they can't shop with that constant noise going on. There is evidently a petition going around to ask for changes in the device.

It is my understanding that the device was installed in response to a blind person almost being hit while crossing at that location and of course the city might also be concerned about litigation. Of course, that is one of the most dangerous crossings in Sebastopol, even for someone with excellent sight, hearing and vision! It's the TRAFFIC that needs to be controlled there, not the pedestrians.

There are some new devices at some crosswalks in Santa Rosa that have much quieter beeps, although sometimes the chirping sound could use a reduced volume. It's for the blind... not the hearing impaired! (They have Walk/Don't Walk lights for us)

My 10 cents
Tom

[jesswolfe]

I had the displeasure of experiencing this today. I pressed the button and it yelled at me. Yikes. Its overly loud and commanding. I have experienced lots of crossing systems for the blind and none were this obnoxious.

Jessica

[Kalia]

I'm all in favor of the concept but the implementation really needs work. It's truly obnoxious, and bossy. There are lots of systems that work just fine, and don't scare the crap out of you if you happen to be standing next to them when they go off. I'm hopeful that the city will take the avalanche of complaints to heart and switch to a less horrifying system of audio guidance.

Kalia

[Barry]

I sent a sample of the complaints posted on this thread to the City Council and Sarah Gurney responded with:

"Thank you for your email about the new loud crosswalk. I've heard about it, including again just this evening from a neighbor. I forwarded your email re the complaints to City Staff. I'm not sure if that's a City responsibility or CalTrans' work and I've asked for a response. I'll let you know what I learn. "

[tomcat]

You can sign the petition at the "Silk Moon" store, which is on the East side of the street right next to the loud device, and/or you can call, or write your complaint via e-mail to:

Sebastopol City Manager
Larry McLaughlin
823-1153
[email protected]

Sue Kelly
Engineering Director
[email protected]

Sue Kelly is the one who evidently ordered the device and she was on vacation last week and still may be.
Let her know how you feel about this device.

Tom

[Kalia]

Sue Kelly is out of the office until August 12, according to the auto-response I got when I sent her an email.

And just as a personal aside, I'd like to ask you all, when you write or call the city office folks, to be nice. They do a lot of good stuff and most of it works really well (how about those crosswalk blinkers? Those things are great!). This one isn't so hot, but I'm sure they can fix it. So let them know about your concerns but try not to drop a major hissy on them (even if you got scared $#*%less by the beeper going off in your ear, like I did).

Kalia

--------------------------------------------

You can sign the petition at the "Silk Moon" store, which is on the East side of the street right next to the loud device, and/or you can call, or write your complaint via e-mail to:

Sebastopol City Manager
Larry McLaughlin
823-1153
[email protected]

Sue Kelly
Engineering Director
[email protected]

Sue Kelly is the one who evidently ordered the device and she was on vacation last week and still may be.
Let her know how you feel about this device.

Tom

[tomcat]

I believe you may also be able to sign the petition at the "Global Village" store on the West side of the street, where the new device is also scaring away customers.

Tom

[Imagery]

Not that this matters, but when you are blind, you rely heavily on sound to guide you. The sound needs to be directional, so you can determine which direction to travel, and loud enough to be heard over traffic. Perhaps if we regulated motorcycle exhaust so it isn't 120db (or more), we could turn down the volume on these.
No, I'm (fortunately) not yet blind, although it might become an option as a side effect of my condition.

[Orm Embar]

I'm sure Sue Kelly can help shed some light on this situation, but I believe that this intersection is under the jurisdiction of CalTrans. It's one of the frustrating things about having 2 state highways crisscrossing downtown.

I'll ask if anyone on the Complete Streets Citizens Advisory board is in-the-know about this.

[tomcat]

It is my understanding that Sue Kelly is the person who ordered the new device. Let her know how you feel about it.

Tom

[tomcat]

Good News !!

My reliable source says:

CalTrans, who is possibly responsible for the CALIBRATION of the new device on the corner, came by today and lowered the volume on the device from 70 decibels to 30 decibels. It does still BEEP constantly and say WAIT when the button is pushed to cross, but at the new lower volume level. It no longer says the name of the street, but that could change. It instead now CHIRPS when it's time to cross.

It is much easier to live with now.
The business owners and workers in the area thank you all for your support!!

Tom