Having long supported efforts to make shared streets and outdoor public places more accessible for people living with vision impairment, North Wales MS and Chair of the Cross-Party Group on Disability, Mark Isherwood, has emphasised the need to involve blind and partially sighted people in the design and delivery of services.
Speaking in this week’s Short Debate: ‘A fair chance - Ensuring blind and partially-sighted people can live the life they choose’, Mr Isherwood referred to Guide Dogs Cymru’s campaign for Safer Streets.
He said that street designs are creating barriers for disabled people, and this could be avoided if they were involved at the design stage.
Speaking in the Senedd Chamber, he said:
“It's now 21 years since I first attended a Guide Dogs Cymru event here, highlighting the need to make shared streets and outdoor public places more accessible for people living with a vision impairment.
“More recently, their Campaign for Safer Streets has also emphasised that although Active Travel measures should never put pedestrians at risk, many cycle routes have been installed on footways without any clear delineation between the cycle lane and pedestrian footway, and called on the Welsh Government to introduce much more robust checks before funding is allocated to new Active Travel routes.
“Working with Wales Council of the Blind, Vision Support and RNIB Cymru, they've also given evidence to the Cross-Party Group on Disability, highlighting the paucity of habilitation training and support for vision-impaired children and young people. Only early involvement of blind and partially sighted people in the design and delivery of services will enable them to live the life they choose.”