A walk is planned late Wednesday morning in downtown Escanaba to mark White Cane Safety Day, to raise awareness about the visually impaired in the community. (iStock/Anna Reshetnikova)

ESCANABA — People from the local area who are blind or vision-impaired will have an awareness walk Wednesday along Ludington Street in Escanaba to commemorate White Cane Safety Day and draw attention to the unique travel difficulties of people with visual impairments in the community.

All are welcome to join the walk and may complete the route with or without a blindfold.

Weather permitting, the walk will start at 11 a.m. at the Ludington Grill, 1110 Ludington St. Participants will walk along Ludington Street to North 10th Street. The route includes a square crossing at the light: the first crossing will be at North 10th, and then walkers will turn right and cross Ludington Street. After a third crossing at South 10th Street, the path concludes after the final crossing of Ludington Street. The group will then walk back to the Ludington Grill.

“We will have some City of Escanaba dignitaries join us on our walk, including Mayor Mark Ammel and Downtown Development Authority Director Craig Woerpel, both of whom will be walking with us while wearing a blindfold. In addition, we will be joined by Pat Duyck, a certified orientation and mobility specialist with the Michigan Bureau of Services for Blind Persons,” organizer John McMahon stated in a news release.

People who want to join but are unable to walk the distance are welcomed to meet at the Ludington Grill for lunch or coffee.

The event has been scheduled in line with National White Cane Safety Day, which has been recognized in the U.S. on Oct. 15 since 1964 and was first signed into proclamation by President Lyndon B. Johnson. In 2011, President Barack Obama named it Blind Americans Equality Day in addition to White Cane Safety Day. The white cane, a tool often used by visually impaired persons, can be seen as a symbol of independence.