The NEN – North Edinburgh News

Four Prospective Parliamentary Candidates for the Edinburgh North and Leith constituency took a stroll along Leith Walk wearing spectacles that simulate sight loss conditions yesterday. 

Gordon Munro (Labour and Co-operative Party), Iain McGill (Scottish Conservatives) and Heather Jane Astbury (Renew) were joined by Alan Dudley and guide-dog Gemma, with Deirdre Brock (SNP) doing the walk later with Alan Simpson.

All four candidates were aiming to gain a better idea of the everyday hazards faced by blind and partially sighted people.

Catriona Burness, campaigns manager for RNIB Scotland, said: “We know streets can’t always be free of clutter. But we can do more to make them accessible. That’s why we are urging elected MPs to help ensure that blind and partially sighted people are able to get out and about independently.

“Shared space developments, for example – which remove separations between cycleways, roads and pavements – are hazardous for blind and partially sighted pedestrians. We want MPs to act on growing concerns about these and deliver on the recommendations on accessible street design set out in Westminster’s  Women and Equalities Committee Report, ‘Building for Equality: Disability and the Built Environment’.”