Charity Calls For Improvements To London Streets For Visually Impaired
A charity has called for a change to the way London’s streets are designed to make them easier for blind people to negotiate.
The Royal London Society for the Blind says road layouts are too confusing for many of the 250,000 visually impaired people living in the city.
It says people are often too scared to leave their homes and suffer isolation, depression and desperation as a result.
Councils use tactile paving but designs vary from borough to borough.
The charity says if London’s 33 councils agreed common design standards it would help reduce the problems.
It wants the government to force planners to introduce simple, uniform design guidelines to give disabled people greater accessibility.
Dr Tom Pey, the charity’s chief executive, who is a guide dog owner, said: “Visually impaired people might just as well be moving to another country, not just across another borough.
“If we can remove barriers and the fear of getting around, then blind people are more likely to get out of their homes and be less depressed. This will benefit society as a whole.”
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