The City of Toronto has approved a plan to speed up the installation of accessible pedestrian signals, better known as "chirpers," at intersections.

The audible signals make it easier for blind people to cross the street.
  
A human rights complaint pushed the city into faster action. 

Details of the complaint remain confidential, but it is known to have come from a blind man who asked the city to install the signals at an intersection near his home. He was told at the time it would take four or five years.

Coun. Glen De Baeremaeker said the timeline was clearly unacceptable.

"It was the human rights complaint that spurred us on to action. Now, we were spending $680,000 per year before the complaint — it's not as though we were doing nothing. The complainant came forward, and I think rightly so, saying 'I can't wait four years for a chirper.... I need help faster than that,' " De Baeremaeker said.

On Friday, the city decided to double its yearly budget — to about $1.5 million — to clear the backlog in two years.

Audible signals won't appear at every intersection. The city only installs one when someone asks for it.

Currently there's a backlog of 51 intersections waiting for the signals.

The city is also pledging to handle any new requests within 12 months.