Able News Column August 2025 – Accessible Pedestrian Signals: Bringing Safety to Chicago and Beyond
When I was in Chicago recently meeting with local disability advocates, one topic came up again and again: Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS). People were energized—and rightfully so—about a major legal win that Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) secured just weeks earlier in American Council of the Blind of Metropolitan Chicago v. City of Chicago.
The federal court’s order in that case is a landmark. After six years of litigation, the City of Chicago is now legally required to install thousands of APS over the next 10 years. This decision came as a result of DRA’s federal class action lawsuit brought on behalf of blind and low vision residents who had long been denied access to basic, life-saving street navigation information.
As many Able News readers know, APS are not optional. They are essential infrastructure that allow blind and low vision pedestrians to cross streets safely and independently. They provide audible and tactile cues that communicate the information that most people receive visually from traditional traffic signals. Without APS, blind pedestrians must rely on guesswork, ambient sounds, or the kindness of strangers—none of which are safe or reliable alternatives.
Our plaintiffs made that clear. As Ann Brash, one of the named plaintiffs in the case, put it:
“I am excited that we, as blind people, will now have access to the same information from traffic signals that our sighted counterparts have. This will go a long way toward ensuring that all blind pedestrians can safely cross Chicago streets.”
The impact of this ruling is massive. When fully implemented, the remedial plan will transform Chicago into one of the most APS-accessible cities in the country. But more importantly, it affirms that blind and low vision people have a right to equal access under the law.
Chicago is just the latest battleground in DRA’s growing national APS effort. In May 2025, we filed a lawsuit to challenge APS barriers in Washington, DC—DC Council of the Blind v. District of Columbia— demanding that the District address its widespread failure to install and maintain APS at its intersections. And in 2020, a federal court in New York ruled in our favor, finding that New York City had discriminated against blind and low vision pedestrians. That case led to sweeping change and will result in the installation of APS at more than 13,000 intersections across New York City.
Through these cases, DRA builds legal precedents city by city, holding local governments accountable, and making streets safer and more navigable for blind and low vision people. With each lawsuit, each victory, and each intersection that becomes accessible, we’re moving the country closer to a future where blind and low vision pedestrians have the same access to public space as everyone else. We’re proud to lead this important movement throughout the country.
As always, for more information about DRA’s high impact legal work, visit DRA’s website.