41% of disabled people often experience problems walking or wheeling to their destination due to the accessibility of the environment. Rachael, who lives in Norwich, explains some of the challenges faced by visually impaired people in accessing and enjoying local spaces on foot. As a participant in our Disabled Citizens’ Inquiry, she also shares her views on what needs to change to make walking safer for everyone.
Photo supplied by Rachael.
Walking with guide dog Ajay is our guest blogger Rachael鈥檚 favourite way to get around her home city of Norwich. She told us:
鈥淚鈥檓 registered blind and have been a guide dog owner for 10 years.
鈥淚 have no sight in my left eye and no central vision in my right eye.
鈥淲hat sight I do have only works very close up.
鈥淚 get around with the help of my guide dog Ajay, who鈥檚 been with me for two years.
鈥淎jay is a big, laid-back, yellow Labrador Retriever.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a lovely boy and I鈥檓 so lucky to have him.鈥
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Challenges on local journeys
鈥淚 prefer to walk to places, rather than catch a bus, as I like to be self-reliant.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always great to be out with Ajay, though it can be hard work sometimes.
鈥淎lthough your dog is your eyes, you鈥檙e the one who鈥檚 in control, so you have to know what you鈥檙e doing.
鈥淚 can list so many physical things that are difficult to navigate on the journeys I make every day:
- cars parked on pavements
- overgrown verges
- crossings without tactile paving
- pavements without dropped kerbs
- dropped kerbs that don鈥檛 line up from one side of the road to the other.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e visually impaired, there鈥檚 a myriad of issues to think about before you even start worrying about other people鈥檚 behaviour and attitudes towards you.鈥
Feeling vulnerable in shared-use spaces
鈥淚 find shared-use spaces difficult.
鈥淧eople coming from behind who are riding cycles and e-scooters can鈥檛 always see the guide dog in front and pull in too close.
鈥淭his frightens me and Ajay.
鈥淎nd if a guide dog loses their confidence, they can鈥檛 keep you safe.
鈥淓ven if you don鈥檛 get hit, a near miss can still have a negative impact.
鈥淚t leaves me feeling vulnerable.鈥
People need to change
鈥淲e need to build better understanding and awareness of the needs of disabled people.
鈥淚鈥檓 a seasoned campaigner on disability and inclusive design.
"Most of the people I talk to do listen and care.
鈥淏ut they just don鈥檛 understand what it鈥檚 like to be visually impaired.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 understand why blocking a pavement or a dropped kerb with their car is such a big problem.
鈥淥r why guide dogs need space to do their work, so you can鈥檛 just cut straight in front of them.
鈥淎 lot of the time it鈥檚 assumed that if somewhere is scary or dangerous, you鈥檒l get someone sighted to go with you.
鈥淚鈥檓 a grown adult, not five years old, and I might not have access to a person. And frankly, why should I?鈥澨
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Places need to change
鈥淚nclusivity and safety should be baked into infrastructure design from the get-go.
鈥淗ow can it be expensive to make things safe for people?
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 often more expensive not to.
鈥淲e need to be caring about each other, not making people fearful about moving around their own neighbourhoods or putting them in danger.鈥
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