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Oct 9, 2009 5:55 pm US/Central
City Rejects 'Blind' Signs, Neighbors Post Own
(WCCO)
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Neighbors asked city hall to put up signs to alert drivers of the blind children in the area, buy the city said no.
CBS
On Lexington Avenue in New Prague, neighbors were unanimous; they needed signs to help slow drivers down. There wasn't just one blind child in the neighborhood, but two within the same block.
Neighbors asked city hall to put up signs to alert drivers of the blind children in the area, buy the city said no.
The neighborhood, however, wouldn't give up.
"Two blind children in one block really warrants a sign, an awareness sign, just to let drivers know -- 16-year-old drivers, moms that are busy," said Tammy Murphy, a parent in the area. "This is an area where two blind children are trying to live independently in the sighted world."
The Murphy Family's neighbor, also a parent of a blind child, went online and found Department of Transportation signs for sale.
"So I took it upon myself to buy my own signs. There was a slow down, people did notice the signs," said Brian Gaul, another neighborhood parent.
When Gaul came home from work last Thursday, to his surprise, the blind child signs he had purchased, and that his neighbors installed, had been removed.
"A neighborhood got together and said, well if they won't do it, we'll do it, and then the city tore them down," said Murphy.
The city tore them down because you can't install signs in a public right of way.
"Could we have handled the removal and that process differently? Absolutely. We learned from that one as well," said New Prague City Administrator Mike Johnson.
Because of the uproar, the City Council put it up for a vote and agreed with the neighbors.
"You try to apply certain standards and processes in what you do. Sometimes when you do that, you don't always get it right," said Johnson.
"You can fight City Hall, but if you do it diplomatically ... if you ask correctly, if you do your research, if you're willing to lobby, ya know, people will listen. In a town like New Prague, I think it made a difference," said Murphy.
The "blind child area" signs were posted Friday afternoon.
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