Court Rules Majority of NYC Traffic Signals Violate Americans with Disabilities Act

A federal judge recently ruled that New York City has violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by not installing accessible pedestrian signals for the blind. Of the city’s 13,000 pedestrian traffic signals, just over 2 percent convey information in a way that is accessible to blind pedestrians.

Not many people are aware that there are approximately 205,000 blind or otherwise visually-impaired people living in NYC. This victory means that finally the city will have to install Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS) so that Deafblind New Yorkers will have access to street crossing information and be able to travel safely, freely, and independently throughout the city.