UDOT

UDOT continues to install hundreds of accessible signals on state-owned roads

A Lindon woman who is blind is working with the Utah Department of Transportation to keep vulnerable road users safe through accessible crosswalk buttons.  

Linda Disney was born blind in her right eye and with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) disease. When she moved to Utah in July of 2015, she immediately had to quit driving because of decreasing vision. 

Soon, she decided to enroll in a nine month program through the Division of Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired (DSBVI). 

“It was the hardest thing that I’ve ever done,” Disney said.

Disney graduated in June of 2018 and lost all vision in March of 2019, when the retina of her left eye detached. At a time when others would have paused, Disney kept moving. She became a member of the Utah Council of the Blind and started advocating for accessibility in her community.

“Linda’s a force of nature,” UDOT Region Three Traffic Signal Engineer Degen Lewis said. 

Lewis signed up for a program with Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind to understand what people with blindness experience. The school put a blindfold on him, handed him a white cane and had him cross the street as if he didn’t have sight. 

“That was a really good experience for me. It definitely helped me gain a better appreciation and understanding of what a person with disabilities, specifically blindness, faces when they have to cross our busy roads. ” Lewis said

Over the past few years, Disney contacted UDOT any time she came across a broken audio-enabled crosswalk button along her route. Lewis said that once UDOT started installing accessible pedestrian signals (APS) technology on a widespread scale in 2023, his office specifically chose to prioritize deploying this technology at intersections they knew were along Disney’s routes. 

APS technology, deployed since 2023, utilizes two kinds of action — movement (like nodding, waving or the press of a button) or activation via an app — to assist pedestrians. Once triggered, the APS alerts pedestrians through an audio feature. This function includes statements like “wait” and “walk sign is on” to keep pedestrians informed. A bluetooth-linked app (the Ped App) can also provide hearing-impaired users with a vibration and other notifications to help them understand when to stop or move forward. 

Disney has a trained guide dog, Brooke, who can guide her towards crosswalk buttons. Together, they’ve traveled everywhere between Provo and Ogden. 

“That [APS technology] gives a person such independence,” Disney said. “Any time they can feel like they’re independent and doing something safely on their own, it’s just empowering. It gives them more confidence.” 

Disney emphasized the need for increased driver awareness, explaining that before getting Brooke, drivers broke two of her white canes while she waited on the sidewalk. In both situations, the drivers left without offering assistance or acknowledging their error. 

“My message for drivers would be that when you’re coming across a crosswalk, assume there’s somebody in it,” Disney said. “Pay attention. Even if the light says to turn, pay attention. You could save a life.” 

Citizens are encouraged to use an online map to see where existing and planned APS buttons reside, and help UDOT prioritize intersections  that need APS by submitting an online form.

“We love to be able to put things, from a transportation orientation, in places where the public really needs them,” Lewis said. “I have 360 various traffic signals and flashers that I’m responsible for in the state. So I really do need the public to say ‘Hey, I’ve got a question,’ or ‘I’ve got a concern’ or ‘I have a need,’ in order to meet them.”  

UDOT has installed multiple buttons at more than 360 intersections and plans to add APS technology at every signalized intersection on state routes by 2033.