From dangerous crossings to confusing part-time pedestrian zones, disability groups have identified a range of issues that could be improved in Bury St Edmunds.
Issues such as the much-maligned St Andrews Street South crossing between the Arc and the town centre were highlighted to St Edmundsbury Borough Council, who invited a range of disability organisations to the town.
People, including those in wheelchairs and the visually impaired, toured the town with representatives from the council.
Wheelchair user Linda Hoggarth, chairman of the Disability Forum for Suffolk, said: “There are a lot of issues in Bury that face people with disabilities. Sometimes the pavement can be narrowed by A-boards, which creates a lot of difficulties.”
She praised the accessibility of both Abbey Gardens and the Arc, but said getting through the town was the issue, identifying issues as simple as dropped curbs being poorly placed which can severely limit accessibility.
Mrs Hoggarth said making towns accessible actually makes it better for everyone. “If it is good for wheelchairs, it also good for prams and buggies – if it easier and safer to move around, it is safer for everyone,” she said.
The conflict between traffic and pedestrians on St Andrews Street South and along the “confusing” part-time pedestrian zone on Abbeygate Street are often identified as unsafe for all users.
Moreton Hall resident Geraldine McKeag, who is registered severely visually impaired, said: “When you have a disability, the issues are multiplied. I walk with a guide dog, so if you take Abbeygate Street, the dog cannot read the signs and know whether or not it is open to cars. The dog is taught to walk along paths, but when the road is pedestrianised people congregate on the paths and block them.”
Kevin Ross, a registered blind member of the Suffolk Coalition of Disabled People who walks with a cane, spoke of a “chaotic and confusing” experience as he tried to cross from the Arc into the town centre.
“You had a bus, which I didn’t know was bus, sat with its engine running, traffic and cyclists in both directions, without asking for help, I would have been stood there all day no knowing if it was safe.”
A spokesman for the borough council said the views will be fed into the masterplan for the town centre, with a first draft due by the end of the summer.
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