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Noise Ordinance Letter
June 23, 2003
To Whom it May Concern:
I am pleased you are working on an ordinance to curb noise from car radios. As a person who has been blind all of my life, I have experienced what it is like to assess traffic in a world growing increasingly noisy.
I am a guide dog user. However, using a guide dog does not mean my dog sees traffic lights and signals me when he thinks it is safe to cross the street. As a guide dog user, it is my job to command my dog and my dog's job to disobey my command if he thinks I am commanding him to walk out in to a dangerous situation.
Whether a person with sight loss chooses to use a white cane or a guide dog for mobility, we are taught to make use of our remaining senses to monitor our environment, to judge when it is safe to cross a street. When I come to an intersection and hear sounds of loud music coming from a nearby vehicle, it is much harder for me to figure out whether the coast is clear for me to cross the street or not. We are taught to follow parallel traffic at streets with traffic lights, and how can one hear the traffic flow when it is masked by a louder sound? Please keep in mind that modern cars are being made to be quieter which, in itself, makes it harder for someone in my situation to know what is happening at intersections.
I will be glad to help in any way I can to support this ordinance.
Sincerely,
Sandra D. Burgess