Driven to make improvements
South Lanarkshire Council has installed a range of features on roads and pavements to increase accessibility.
Councillors on the equal opportunities forum heard the efforts made by the local authority to enhance transport accessibility in order to ensure disabled people aren’t disqualified from playing a full role in society.
A range of features have been installed on pavements, at bus stops and at pedestrian crossings.
Councillors welcomed the progress in making the area more inclusive.
Councillor Bert Thomson (Blantyre) said: “This is a fantastic result. These things look really good but what’s the plan in the budget to implement them more in South Lanarkshire because they’d be good in a lot of areas?”
The council’s transport department has been pulling together active travel studies for all main towns and villages to demonstrate to external funding partners what the communities’ concerns are.
So far, the council has been successful in increasing pedestrian and transport infrastructure to offer inclusive mobility.
Tactical paving surfaces, which are seen across the area, are in place to convey different things to visually impaired people.
This includes blister paving at pedestrian crossings which is in an ‘L’ shape that directs people to a push button.
Corduroy paving, which comes in three forms, has also been installed in the area. This includes close ribbed paving which indicates potential hazards such as steps, wide ribbed surfaces found on cycle track networks and round curves that guide people along a route where there are cues to try and form a line.
At bus stops across South Lanarkshire there are dropped curves for wheelchair users to easily access the bus.
And at traffic signal controlled junctions and pedestrian crossings there are several aids that people with mobility, vision and hearing impairments can use.
The push buttons at traffic lights are illuminated and fitted with a tactile cone underneath which rotates when it is safe to cross.
Crossing times for pedestrians are also set using national criteria based on average walking speed as well as width of the road.
Councillor Kirsten Robb (East Kilbride East) said: “It’s fantastic to see those changes happening on the ground and I’m sure they’ll make a real difference too.
“I wanted to ask if the council could update on where we are on reducing the speed to 20 miles per hour where people live, because I think that would help give people reassurance.”
Council officers confirmed that there is a consultant on board to undertake an assessment of reducing the speed limit in built up areas and they are expecting to get a draft document within the coming weeks.
Councillor Ross Clark (Larkhall) then added: “Thank you for that update. For many neurodivergent people a change in road or signage can be distressing or confusing, is this something we take into account in our plans in terms of inequalities issue?”
There was a questionnaire distributed to locals who could make comments on the design of the features installed and comments were taken on board when it came to ensuring complete inclusivity.