White Cane Awareness Day is a day to raise awareness about the right of blind and visually impaired people to move freely with a white cane or a guide dog. But many people also use the day to promote pedestrian safety.
Many visually impaired people gathered in Albany's Washington Park Thursday, some with their guide dogs and others with their white canes tapping away at the concrete as they walked.
The long, thin cane allows its visually impaired user to check the area around them for obstacles.
Many people who gathered Thursday were members of the Northeastern Association of the Blind at Albany, a local organization that provides resources to the blind and visually impaired of New York's capital city.
Kyle Frownfelter, an assistive technology instructor at the association, uses a white cane himself. He said his cane is an extension of himself.
"I think the two vital functions of the white can is it protects you and it lets other people know you're out there and you have visual impairment," Frownfelter said. "And obviously, like, if you're crossing a street, you have the right of way if you have a white cane or a guide dog, so it's important for people to know that as well.
All 50 states currently have White Cane Laws in effect. In New York, the state mandates that every vehicle yield to a pedestrian crossing the roadway using a cane or a guide dog.
