News Date: Wednesday 4th April 2007
How would you like to bump into this?
Following on from the recent visit to Shoreham by cycle lane experts Sustrans it was pointed out to Tim how cluttered Shoreham High Street was looking. Town Centre manager David Steadman has done a great job sprucing the street scene up with the new planters, cycle racks and so on, but the eye line is spoiled by a mass of poles, signs and other objects. Worse still for people with sight disabilities or limited to wheel chairs and electric buggies this can prove a real obstacle course. Tim contacted the charity 4Sight which is based in Shoreham and with the help of two of their members went on a disability audit of Shoreham High Street, accompanied by Shoreham's County Councillor Clive Williams and Town Centre Manager David Steadman. It became instantly obvious that things could be made a lot easier for people with a few minor changes and David Steadman will now be contacting shopkeepers and others to seek their help. The County Council, Highways Department will also get involved. Standing shop signs could be located closer to the shop face in a straight line rather than in a zig-zag formation forcing guide dogs to have to weave their owners in and out for example. Most poles and lamp-posts are painted black but others painted sky grey are hard to pick out by partially sighted people. Some poles seem badly misplaced or surplus to requirements altogether. Worst of all too many inconsiderate drivers are parking on the pavement in some cases across crossing points demarcated by the bumpy paving slabs specifically located to help blind people orientate themselves.
All it needs is for people to use a little more consideration and think about the needs of people with disabilities. It is challenging enough to get around busy streets if you cannot see or are confined to a wheelchair and putting cars, vans, signs and other obstacles in their way really does not help. This was a very interesting exercise for me and I hope that we can clear up Shoreham High Street and other similar roads so that they are safer and more attractive places for everyone to use whether they have a disability or not.
