BENTONVILLE -- David Henry can access the north side of Southwest 14th Street by foot ever since the city installed its first audible crosswalk signals at the Been Road intersection.
Henry is blind. He lives less than a quarter-mile south of the intersection.
He took a walk to it to demonstrate the new signals Wednesday. Henry talked with ease, his walking cane creating a soft cadence as he repeatedly scratched it along the sidewalk.
Henry didn't cross Southwest 14th Street before the audible crosswalks were installed.
"I remember when I was driving, 14th Street was a dangerous street whether you could see or not," he said.
Henry developed cataracts at age 13. The retina in his left eye tore twice while he was studying at the University of Arkansas, which eventually left that eye blind.
The sight in his right eye continued to get worse with glaucoma. Henry lost all eyesight in 2007.
Henry's cane hits the sidewalk's end on the east side of Been Road, about 75 yards short of the intersection with Southwest 14th Street. He finds the curb, then waits.
"I'm waiting for that car," he says finally. "I can't quite tell how far off he is." About two seconds later a black Jeep Cherokee approaches from the south.
"It's not a matter of better hearing," he said. "It's just refocused."
The chirping of the audible pedestrian signals can be heard as Henry closes in on the intersection.
A loud voice says, "Wait," then informs Henry when it's safe to walk north across Southwest 14th Street. The voice then counts down the seconds.
"From each pole, you can go either direction," said Brad Conley, with the Transportation Department. "We set a minimum threshold of volume and a maximum threshold of volume, and it will vary by the road noise."
Conley said Henry assisted with testing the system after it was installed. It went live in early October.
Octavio Sanchez, Ward 4 alderman, approached the city in the spring about increasing the safety of the intersection for the visually impaired.
Mike Churchwell, transportation director, said he never thought of audible crosswalks being a need before, but was on board with providing a solution, Sanchez said.
Henry spoke of his time at the Colorado Center for the Blind on the walk back to his house. It was where he gained confidence living without vision, he said.
Henry now lives by himself. He serves as Arkansas' legislative director for the National Federation of the Blind. He also is the vice president of the Bentonville Lions Club, where he serves as the eyeglass chairman.
"Which I've always thought was an irony. People are getting their eyeglasses from a blind man," he said.
His demeanor is optimistic. "I don't let my blindness define me," he said. "It's just a characteristic."
It's things like audible crosswalks that can make life easier and safer."It's wonderful that they've done this," Henry said. "I'm just really appreciative."
Metro on 11/30/2015