Cache services for low-vision people generally good; buses should ‘run later’
February 5th, 2010 Posted in Arts and LifeBy Cathy Morgan
LOGAN–Chirping street lights and raised bumps at the corners are just two small signs of the visually impaired living in Cache County.
Aaron Timm, a low-vision student at Utah State University, said “I love the people here; they’re much more friendly than places I’ve lived before.” For being a college town and having free transportation, Timm stated that the buses are “not just free but slick and efficient.”
Herschel Kelly, also a student, remarked that “the Disability Resource Center on campus is fantastic.“ When he referred to the campus itself he said “it’s very easy to navigate around and tactful.”
For being such a wide area, it’s easy for the visually impaired to get together to play their most popular sport, called goalball. Goalball is a sport played on a basketball-length court with raised lines taped to the ground. There are three players on each side that are blindfolded. They play with a basketball-sized ball that has bells in it.
“The main reason I even moved to Logan was to play goalball and that’s it,” Kelly said. Many people that not only play for the state but also nationally have seemed to be drawn to the Logan area, which makes practice much easier for them and avoids’ travel expenses.
There are many things that seem to draw people with vision impairments to the Cache County area but like all things, there is room for improvement. Lewis Burdette commented that “the bus system could run later.” Buses stop running at only 8:30 p.m. on week days and 6:30 on Saturdays. This tends to make traveling very difficult when it comes to shopping and going out in town for dinner or other fun activities.
Kelly said that the buses should not only stop in the middle of the block but also on the corners, like in the Salt Lake City area. “This makes it hard and frustrating for blind people to find out where they’re going,” he commented.
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Tags: Cache County, Logan, services, students, Visually impaired
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