Footpaths to be improved

SMALL changes to Dunedin’s footpaths will result in a big improvement for residents who sometimes struggle to cross the street safely.

The Dunedin City Council will start installing lowered kerbs and yellow tactile paving at 100 crossings throughout city today.

During the next 12 months footpaths in Andersons Bay, Caversham, Mornington, Brockville, Helensburgh, Wakari, Kaikorai Valley, Roslyn, Kenmure and Waikouaiti will all be improved.

Lowered kerbs are ramps in a footpath at crossings to help those who are less mobile cross streets easily and tactile paving is a textured surface to aid visually impaired people.

The programme of work will cost about $500,000.

Disabled Persons Assembly spokesman Chris Ford welcomed the improvements and said it was working with the council to ensure they met ‘‘the expectations of all users — particularly blind people and people with mobility, vision and other impairments who rely on kerb cuts to navigate crossings safety.’’

Age Concern Otago executive officer Debbie George said the organisation was delighted the city’s footpaths were being made safer for people with mobility or visual challenges.

A fall for an older person was often lifechanging and sometimes lifethreatening, so pedestrian safety was vital, she said.

Council transport manager Richard Saunders said the age of the city’s infrastructure meant many footpaths and roads did not work well for pedestrians or people with pushchairs, wheelchairs or other mobility devices or for those who were visually impaired.

The safety improvements would ensure the city’s footpaths and roads met the needs of all pedestrians, Mr Saunders said.

In the past two years, the council has altered more than 100 crossings in South Dunedin and the central city.