Greetings everyone!  I'm Jayna Sheffield at the business desk and today I'd like to publish an article which I feel is an example of creative thinking, innovativeness, and an example for many of us to follow.  This article shows that there are good folks out there who are thinking well and thinking ahead.  The consumers being addressed in this article are a bunch of consumers that are growing quite rapidly right here in our backyard and even on a global basis. 

This group of consumers is becoming more and more important as they grow in size, financial influence, but most importantly their demand and needs are only going to expand on a limitless basis.

You're probably asking why?  Simple!  The growth in numbers of this group of consumers is being fuelled by the growth in disabling diseases such as Diabetes.  I urge you to pay close attention to this article as it can help to spark your imagination re other types of products and services that you could develop for this very liquid market.  

If you need further proof then read Untapped Wealth Discovered.  This hot seller will show you how to develop safe and logical businesses to satisfy not only this market, but many others.

You can obtain this book from this website or from www.amazon.com.

Enjoy your weekend, be careful when you go shopping in those crowded malls, and keep your eyes wide open for those scammers and identity thieves.

'Braille for the feet': N.J. sidewalks get tactile cues 

 

By Eric Hsu
Daily Record, NJ, November 06, 2006

 

PALISADES PARK, N.J. - Even the mayor was a little confused when the bumpy,
red pads showed up.

 

On street corners here and across the state, work crews have been installing
special panels designed to help the blind and visually handicapped tell
exactly where the sidewalk ends and traffic begins.

 

The panels, sometimes called ''Braille for the feet,'' are covered with
quarter-inch-high bumps that can be felt underfoot, and have been unusual
enough to stop passers-by.

 

In Palisades Park, where workers have laid dozens of the panels along
Brinkerhoff Avenue, Mayor James Rotundo said he at first mistook them for
anti-slip pads.

 

''I had the same question. They do look a little different,'' Rotundo said.

 

The panels, often a brick-red color, are of a type more commonly seen on
train platforms, where they have been used for many years to warn riders
about the platform's edge.

 

They became a requirement for sidewalks in 2001 under the Americans with
Disabilities Act.

 

But because the specifications have been revised, many towns have only now
started installing them. The panels are required only for new sidewalk
construction or renovation, said Dave Yanchulis, a spokesman for the ADA
Access Board.

 

Dozens of towns in Bergen, Passaic, Morris and Essex counties have ordered
the panels in recent months, said Bob Hibler, an Edison, N.J.-based
distributor for Armor-Tile, one of the largest manufacturers of the panels.
Ridgefield has ordered 200, Passaic has ordered 100, and Newark has ordered
300.

 

About 20 panels were installed during a renovation of Cedar Lane in Teaneck
this summer, and they are slated for projects in Hillsdale and River Vale,
said Christopher Statile, an engineering consultant.

 

The panels could eventually be as ubiquitous as sidewalk cutouts, which
include the low curb and ramps at the end of sidewalks.

 

In fact, the design of the panels grew out of an unusual debate about
cutouts in the disability community.

 

Several decades ago, laws started mandating curb cuts to improve access for
wheelchair users and others. But the cutouts sometimes hindered the blind,
who relied on curb drop-offs to cue them to the end of the sidewalk, said
David Loux, a field operations manager for a Morristown company that trains
guide dogs.

 

Access experts settled on the panels as a compromise. Sometimes called
''truncated domes,'' referring to the beveled tops of the bumps, the panels
provide instant feedback underfoot or for a person with a cane. Their color
is also meant to contrast with the sidewalk as a signal to those with
limited vision.

 

Refinements to the design have included making the panels smaller, and
laying the bumps perpendicular to the panel's edge, rather than diagonally,
to make them easier for wheelchairs to pass.

 

But some debate continues about the tradeoffs.

 

The panels can be slightly problematic for shopping carts, strollers and
in-line skaters, said Jerry Smith, vice-president of Detectable Warning
Systems, a company in California that manufactures fiberglass versions of
the panels. And women in high heels might struggle with them, Statile said.

 

Smith said they also can be more difficult to keep clear of ice and snow,
because the bumps stop plows and shovels. Ed Hoff, an accessibility expert
with NJ Transit, said the snow-clearing can be accomplished with ice melt
and brushes.

 

Loux, who is blind, said he believes the panels' inconveniences are minor
compared with their benefit for blind people, who he noted must walk more
since they don't drive.

 

''You're going to give that person a tremendous edge of safety,'' Loux said.
''We'd like to be safe so we can get to our destination. We'd like to get
home, too.''

 

Visit The Record Online at http://www.northjersey.com/

 

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

 

http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article/article.jsp?Section=NATIONAL&ID=5648358
09406353531

Contact us to learn more.