Deaf and Hearing Impaired Communities Express Travel Needs
SPECIAL REPORT
ADDENDUM TO THE
Connecting Communities Summit
*
The Catholic Office of the Deaf is an agency of the Archdiocese of Chicago serving deaf and hard-of-hearing people in Cook
and Lake Counties. There are approximately 6,000 deaf people in Chicago, not including those hard-of-hearing. This summit
was made possible with the assistance of Fr. Joseph A. Mulcrone, Director of the Catholic Office of the Deaf.
Chicagoland's deaf community recently engaged in a
mini-summit on improving transportation for their
needs. The meeting took place at the St. Francis
Borgia Deaf Center
*
on Saturday June 15
th
, 2002.
The hearing-impaired participants offered suggestions
for system wide improvements as well as targeted
projects to improve service and access, to achieve the
same level of mobility as the rest of the population.
Attendees envisioned a transportation system that is
efficient, accessible, well connected and on schedule.
In addition, participants recommended a train system
that connects all parts of our region and country. They
felt the government should allocate more money for
subsidizing the transportation system. In addition to
improved service for the community, they expressed a
concern for safety during travel.
The mini-summit group was comprised of fifteen
community members, including seven males and eight
females ranging in age from 21 to 66 years old.
Meeting attendees were primarily White along with
one African-American and one bi-racial attendee. The
mini-summit was conducted with two interpreters who
narrated and signed to facilitate communication.
Various levels of hearing capability were represented.
Some members of the group were fully deaf without
the function of speech, while others were able to hear
with the aid of hearing devices. A few attendees were
able to communicate verbally.
Many mini-summit participants travel from the suburbs
to the Loop area for work, leisure, and recreational
activity via all modes of transportation. Other frequent
travel destinations include Skokie, Navy Pier, the
Chicago Hearing Society, locations in Southeast
Chicago, and the lakefront. Locally, they pay visits to
doctors, grocery stores, and other nearby businesses.
Public transit is the primary mode of transportation for
meeting attendees. In the previous month, they took a
total of 75 trips via public transit. They determined that
more attention should be given to the public transit
system in order to improve mobility in the region.
Thirteen members own cars, although they use single
occupancy vehicles less frequently than car-pooling.
Only four participants indicated walking as a means to
accomplish daily errands. Improving pedestrian infra-
structure was indicated as a primary regional concern.
Accordingly, safe and walkable neighborhoods are
desired by many participants who would like to walk
more but do not feel comfortable doing so currently.
Many also emphasized the importance of enhancing
bicycling infrastructure throughout the region since
bikes were the group's second most frequently used
mode of transportation.
Various statements made throughout the meeting
stressed that increased communication is fundamental
to improving access for the deaf and hard of hearing
community. Drivers, transit users, bicyclists and
pedestrians require the availability of more information
to ensure swift and safe travel. Advances in teletype-
writer (TTY) technology make it possible for many
people to receive information otherwise not available.
Participants enthusiastically proposed incorporating text
message updates for all types of transportation. Yet,
the technology must be available beyond the conve-
nience of home TTY devices. Messages could be
sent to cell phones, home TTY devices, or other media
to alert patrons of potential delays so they can adjust
their travel patterns accordingly. Transit system
information would best be provided through use of
scrolling marquees at train stations, on the trains, at bus
stops and on the buses. Some meeting attendees
experienced missed connections and bus drivers
passing by stops since they could not hear oral ex-
planatory messages. Automobile drivers also desire
