The organisation Guide Dogs has called for Local Authorities across Wales to stop commissioning ‘shared surface streets’.SHARED SURFACES, also known as shared surface streets, are a new design concept for town centre and street design. In most cases, it involves removing the kerb and having the road and the pavement at the same level with little or no separation between areas for vehicles and pedestrians.
The shared space concept aims to create attractive, shared ‘social’ areas and to reduce the dominance of vehicles to make streets more ‘people-friendly’.
However, the campaign group Guide Dogs oppose the use of shared surfaces mainly due to the dangers they present to disabled and elderly people.
Local Labour Assembly Member, Joyce Watson, met representatives from Guide Dogs at an event held in the National Assembly for Wales (19 May) to launch their campaign to 'Stop shared surfaces, keep our pavements'.
Joyce said: “Shared surfaces work on the basis that pedestrians, motorists and cyclists all need to make eye contact to establish who moves first. While it can look attractive, it puts blind and partially sighted people at real risk as they are unable to tell where the road begins and where the pavement ends.
“Street planners need to consider the needs of all road users, which include not only blind people but other vulnerable groups who are affected by these designs. We do not want areas across Wales to become no-go areas for some members of the community.
“Effective and meaningful consultation with blind and partially sighted people, and people with other disabilities, must take place if the ‘shared space’ approach to street design is to work.”
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