Trying to get around the streets of Arnold town centre on a daily basis if you’re blind or visually impaired can be a challenge.
And yesterday MP Vernon Coaker and leader of Gedling Borough Council, John Clarke, experienced what it was like to walk through one of the busiest streets in the town yesterday (29) without being able to see – with only a guide dog to lead the way.
Both undertook a blindfold walk with a guide dog and a long cane to raise awareness of how everyday pavement objects can be hazardous for people with sight loss.
Mr Coaker and Mr Clarke donned blindfolds from High Street, Arnold and headed onto the shopping precinct. They experienced what it is like to navigate a level surface, which pedestrians and vehicles can use at the same time without there being any physical cues like kerbs to inform a person with sight loss that they are entering a shared surface zone. They also negotiated advertising boards and other pavement hazards such as items displayed outside shops.
Charity Guide Dogs is campaigning for clearer footpaths to help pedestrians with a visual impairment to feel more confident in navigating their environment. Cars parked on pavements, wheelie bins, and advertising boards outside shops are just a few of the moving objects that can cause problems and distress. These items can unnecessarily force someone out on to the road and into oncoming traffic. If that person is blind, disabled, elderly or a child they may not be able to confidently negotiate when it would be safe to do so.
Vernon Coaker MP said: “Undertaking the walk with a guide dog and a long cane really highlighted to me how everyday objects can cause major issues for someone with sight loss.
“We rely so much on our sight to negotiate around objects but without that sense it can become a minefield. As a community we all need to take more responsibility to keep the footpath clear and to ensure that objects are placed in a systematic approach so they’re easier to navigate.”
Cllr John Clarke added: “Although I know this area extremely well wearing the blindfold was disorientating. I can imagine that being faced with an unexpected object it could easily force someone from their route and in the wrong direction, causing distress.
“Experiencing how someone with sight loss would get cues from the environment such as a kerb edge, tactile paving or crossing point has been invaluable. Particularly in relation to when someone would get information on when it is safe to cross a level surface.”
Gedling Borough Council is committed to making Gedling a more inclusive and embracing location. As part of this they have a policy advisor specifically dedicated to equality, Cllr Roxanne Ellis, who is working with Guide Dogs to help make the borough more accessible for people with sight loss.
Kelly France, engagement officer for Guide Dogs, commented: “Street clutter is a real problem for people with a visual impairment, as 97% of people who are blind or partially sighted regularly encounter problems with pavement obstacles, such as shop advertising boards or pavement café furniture.
“Poorly parked vehicles that block some or the entire pavement cause problems for many pedestrians. It can force people who are blind or partially sighted, parents with pushchairs, wheelchair users, and many others, to walk into the road and into the path of oncoming traffic.
“Research undertaken by Guide Dogs on shared surface streets has shown that 9 out of 10 people with sight loss were concerned about shared surfaces and 6 out of 10 said they avoid them or are very reluctant to use them.”
