Obstacles on a sidewalk

At the best of times, we all have to put up with those annoying and irritating obstacles on the sidewalk. In the normal scheme of things, sighted persons can normally avoid most of these but for a blind person it is often markedly different. I am going to give you some of the more common ones that I believe to be annoying to me.

Garbage cans: my cane may not often detect these before it is too late and then I end up crashing into them.
Kids' toys: they can trip me if I do not know that they are on the sidewalk, and again my cane may not always find them in time.
Signs: if left in the middle of the sidewalk, they can often cause me potential injury.
Tree branches: if I am walking a bit too quickly I could potentially stumble into them before being able to retrieve my balance.
When dogs leave their calling cards on the sidewalk: a huge annoyance for me.
Pot holes: I often find these just before I end up falling into them.
Construction: I do my best to avoid these areas if I know ahead of time.

I’m Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and share my blogs with others. Visit www.nfb.org to learn more.