Tag: RNIB Scotland

£5m to support active travel in the capital

Edinburgh will benefit significantly from £5m Scottish Government funding to support the creation of safe, accessible routes for walking, cycling and wheeling as lockdown restrictions are lifted.

The Capital is receiving half of the original £10m Spaces for People funding total (administered by Sustrans) – now trebled by the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Michael Matheson, to £30m – to carry out road space improvements like temporary pavement widening, pop-up segregated cycle lanes and pedestrianised streets.

Earlier this month the council published a widespread package of suggested measures to make it easier and safer for people to travel by foot, bike or wheelchair while maintaining physical distancing.

These proposals recognise a real surge in walking and cycling rates since lockdown began, and the positive impact of this, and fewer cars, on air quality and congestion levels. The changes to how we allocate road space will help sustain this increase in people choosing active travel as the city moves towards the ‘new normal’.

The council’s received many suggestions for road closures, widened pavements, segregated cycle lanes and other possible actions from across the city and they are all helping to shape our efforts over the next weeks and months.

A programme of changes is already well underway across the city, with road closures in Silverknowes, Greenbank, Cammo and Leith prompting strolling, cycling and family exercise amongst community members.

Thanks to the latest funding boost, the city council will be able to make further, extensive improvements at no extra cost to Council budgets, including the next phase of measures set to be implemented next week.

Transport and Environment Convener Councillor Lesley Macinnes said: “This significant award from Transport Scotland – half of the original total for Scotland – is testament to the scale and ambition of the schemes being brought forward.

“We’re delighted that this will allow us to make extensive changes to provide a safer and more attractive environment for walking, cycling or wheeling at no cost to the Council.

“We are building a sustainable future for the Capital as we emerge from this crisis, as our Adaptation and Renewal programme demonstrates, and setting an example through our approach to transport.

“There’s been a step-change in the way people move around the city, with a surge in walking and cycling, and our proposed measures will harness this enthusiasm long term. Facilitating active travel and public transport use is essential if we are to limit the negative impacts of congestion, air pollution and carbon emissions as we return to a ‘new normal’.

“Of course, this is a complex process, and our project team are working extremely hard to get schemes in place where they are needed most. We’ve already seen a fantastic reaction to the first phase of improvements in areas like Silverknowes and Greenbank, where road closures have brought communities out to stroll and cycle on newly-peaceful streets, and this is exactly the kind of response we want to see.

“There’s clearly a desire to be able to travel on foot or bike and by giving residents safe and accessible routes to do this, we are encouraging healthier, more environmentally-friendly habits now and for generations to come.

Transport and Environment Vice Convener Councillor Karen Doran said: This is fantastic news. Our close working relationship with funding administrators Sustrans, who have supported us to develop innovative, effective projects to enable active travel, has helped pave a smoother path to funding, which will be extremely beneficial to the city long-term.

“In line with national policies to drive down carbon emissions and encourage healthy, sustainable transport choices, we are already 100% committed to delivering a people-friendly, accessible city.

“Our existing plans for Edinburgh City Centre Transformation, the City Mobility Plan and Low Emission Zones envision a city where pedestrians, cyclists and public transport is prioritised, and the temporary measures made possible by this funding will help us build towards this.”

Transport officers have been working to prioritise areas where supportive measures are most-needed, and the next phase of improvements will be:

  • The partial closure of Stanley Street and Hope Lane between Stanley Street and Christian Grove to provide a low-traffic corridor for people to walk and cycle and access nearby green spaces like Figgate Park for exercise, from 2 June.
  • The closure of Warriston Road to through traffic to provide a wide pedestrian and cyclist-friendly space leading to access to the North Edinburgh path Network, from 2 June. Access to the allotment and Warriston Crematorium will be maintained via Ferry Road.
  • The implementation of a temporary segregated cycleway on Old Dalkeith Road, between Cameron Toll and the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
  • The introduction of an advisory cycle lane on Crewe Road South, between the Orchard Brae roundabout and Crewe Toll roundabout. Both this and the cycle lane on Old Dalkeith Road will allow safer travel by bike for key workers and service users, from early June.

From this week, the council will also be prioritising pedestrians at 150 junctions by removing the need to press the button to call the green man during the daytime and evening. Those with visual impairments will be able to continue using crossings as before.

The Council’s overall approach will be implemented to support the Scottish Government’s phased approach to lifting lockdown.

The proposed partial pedestrianisation of Waverley Bridge, for example, aims to create more space at a key transport hub, while the measures in the city’s eight local high streets will support local shops, pubs and cafes to re-open in safe environments.

Space will be created on the main routes into the city to support people coming back to workplaces by walking where possible, and by bike, which has seen a surge in popularity.

All measures that are introduced will be closely monitored and refined or adapted in response to any issues, where necessary. A dedicated webpage will also be set up listing schemes that have been implemented, those that are under consideration and any which have been discounted.

Find out more about plans, and other changes to council services, on the Council website.

Sight loss charity RNIB Scotland has written to the City of Edinburgh Council asking it to ensure that new plans to create temporary cycle-lanes do not endanger blind and partially sighted people.

This week, transport secretary Michael Matheson announced he will treble the £10m originally put forward under his ‘Spaces for People’ initiative, inviting Scottish local authorities to take advantage of reduced traffic levels and introduce additional cycle-lanes or expand existing ones.

While welcoming the ‘Spaces for People’ initiative, RNIB Scotland fears this could still exacerbate problems it has been campaigning on if too hastily introduced.

“New cycle lanes must be created with full regard to pedestrians with sight loss or other mobility issues,” insisted its director James Adams.

“The problem is that blind and partially sighted people might not be able to see or hear cyclists approaching, while cyclists might simply assume a pedestrian will see them coming. Mobility aids such as white canes getting caught up in bicycle wheels is a further hazard to both.

“Mr Matheson also urged councils to engage with disability organisations so plans do not compromise the ability of people who have impaired mobility to cross roads and to use pedestrian crossing facilities.”

RNIB Scotland is promoting its Coronavirus Courtesy Code https://www.rnib.org.uk/scotland/campaigning-rnib-scotland/coronavirus-courtesy-code to encourage better understanding of the needs of pedestrians with disabilities. The charity is also calling for any extra space for cycle-lanes to be allocated from roads and not pavements, for raised kerbs to be maintained, and for warning signs to alert cyclists when they are approaching a crossing.

* The RNIB Helpline is available to help blind and partially sighted people and their families and carers on 0303 123 9999.

 

Firestarters!

Have you ever wondered what it would be like getting around central Edinburgh if you were blind, partly sighted, a wheelchair user or have mobility issues? Yesterday, 15 people found out.

A grouping of charities gave them an opportunity to accompany people with a range of complex needs around the congested area beside the Omni Centre on Greenside Row.

The move is part of the ‘Firestarter’ programme of nationwide events that aims to ‘allow people from all aspects of public service to share innovative and creative ways that are making a difference to Scotland’. Those taking part included policymakers, civil servants and other influencers.

Yesterday’s event was hosted by We Walk, We Cycle, We Vote, a collaborative campaign calling for more investment in walking and cycling, with RNIB Scotland, Spinal Injuries Scotland. Guide Dogs Scotland also supported the event.

James Adams, director of RNIB Scotland, said: “Letting the people who set the framework for things like planning and urban design experience hear what it’s like trying to get around a city centre will give them a greater appreciation of the potential problems those with sight loss and other disabilities face every day.

“We are campaigning for all of our cities and towns to be made more accessible to people and for any obstacles or impediments to be kept to a minimum.

“That’s why we very much welcomed the recent decision by Edinburgh City Council to make its ban on advertising boards permanent. A bold and progressive move like this will make our capital more welcoming to residents and visitors with disabilities.”

Maureen Morrison, operations manager with Spinal Injuries Scotland , said, “We are committed to supporting spinal cord injured (SCI) people and ensuring that our towns and cities are designed to enable them to undertake life’s daily functions with as much independence as possible.

“For many who require a greater level of accessibility, the prospect of leaving the house can be daunting. We welcome this event as an opportunity to point out the barriers that many people face in the hope that influencers will incorporate more accessible design in our towns and cities in the future, for a more inclusive society.”

RNIB Talking Books appeal gets most votes from Edinburgh Tesco shoppers

Tesco community champion April Waters (pictured above, right) presents RNIB Scotland volunteer Hazel Kelly (left) with a cheque for £4,000, after the sight loss charity came first in six Tesco store’s ‘Bags of Help’ initiative, including Hermiston Gait and Corstorphine. Shoppers voted with special tokens for their favourite cause. Continue reading RNIB Talking Books appeal gets most votes from Edinburgh Tesco shoppers

Seeing is believing: new project tells the story of Edinburgh’s blind people

rnibA Heritage Lottery Fund project that will bring to life the stories of people with sight loss in Edinburgh and the Lothians a hundred years ago is being launched today.

‘Seeing Our History’ will offer a unique but often grim glimpse of a time when the blind and partially sighted were consigned to the margins of society, almost wholly dependent on the goodwill of others.

Sight loss charity RNIB Scotland has received £55,700 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to begin the 12-month project.

The aim is to compile a 60-page booklet – in hard copy, braille and ‘talking-book’ formats – to accompany a series of six programmes to be broadcast on the charity’s award-winning Insight Radio station.

The project is indebted to former RNIB Scotland Chair and long-time community activist, campaigner and Councillor Jimmy Cook whose passionate interest in the history of blindness ensured that records survive today.

Dr Catriona Burness of RNIB Scotland said: “We are very excited to have received the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund for this unique project.

“Historical and cultural studies have mainly neglected the experiences of blind and partially sighted people. ‘Seeing our History’ will address this by showing what it was like to have sight loss in Edwardian Edinburgh and Lothians before the First World War. Adults and children endured harsh lives, usually dependent on subsistence work or welfare relief that was conditional on religious conformity.

“This was an era before sight-saving eye-treatments, disability benefits, computer screen-readers and audio-books. If to be poor then was to be at the margins of society, to be blind and poor was to be at the margins of the margins. People had to rely upon poor relief, charitable aid, and meagre supplementary earnings from activities such as hawking, knitting, teaching or playing music, selling tea or keeping house.

“‘Seeing Our History’ will give up to 12 research volunteers, including some with sight loss, an opportunity to develop heritage interest and learn new skills, while also taking the history of blindness to a wider audience who might not previously have given disability much thought.”

The project will base its work on the 1903-10 register of ‘the outdoor blind’ (ie, those not resident in institutions) recently donated by RNIB Scotland to the Lothian Health Services Archive. Details include names, address, place of birth, age when sight was lost, cause of blindness; marital status; how employed; weekly earnings before losing sight and weekly income after, and date of death.

The 1,170 entries in the register will be supplemented by other materials such as census returns, poor relief records, and family papers and wills for the wealthy to enable the project to reconstruct some of the stories of blind and partially sighted people’s lives across social class, gender, occupation, and locality.

Colin McLean, head of HLF Scotland, said “We are delighted to give this innovative project our support. As well as exploring a fascinating and so far largely undiscovered part of our heritage, the project provides opportunities for participants to learn new skills, expand their knowledge and produce a valuable resource for others to learn from, enjoy and be inspired by.”

logo_hdr_HLF