Mobility scooter user slams lack of improvements

Anna Taylor said the lack of dropped kerbs in St Peter Port meant some people were unwilling to come into the town

A mobility scooter user is calling on the States of Guernsey to speed up accessibility improvements around St Peter Port.

Accountant Anna Taylor said despite new anti-discrimination legislation coming into force in October there had been little practical progress.

She said it meant many islanders remained reluctant to leave their homes because they did not feel safe travelling along roads and pavements.

Colin Le Page, from Traffic and Highways, said: "We fully appreciate the difference it makes to people’s lives when roads and footpaths are accessible and we will continue to make these improvements."

'Understand our needs'

Under the law Traffic and Highways does not need to make any reasonable adjustments to the island's infrastructure before 1 October 2028.

Ms Taylor said: "I would really like to see the States engaging with the disabled community in Guernsey, to understand what our needs are and take on a proper audit of the environment to identify what is lacking.

"We want some transparency as to whether anything will happen and when and how, so we can try to ensure our lives are optimised."

She said narrow pavements and a lack of dropped kerbs were among the issues that left people feeling vulnerable to street traffic and falls.

Ms Taylor said this extended to an area of town with disabled parking space bays, where the nearest dropped kerb is in the middle of a taxi rank.

She said: "You get out your car with your scooter or wheelchair and there isn't a single dropped kerb to enable you to get back onto the pavement."

Traffic and Highways said tactile paving and dropped kerbs have been added at the end of a footpath by Paris Street, as well as at crossing points near La Piette and Well Road

Ms Taylor said: "It's important for my mental health to feel like I'm accessing life.

"It's devastating and there's a chunk of the community that get ignored when a little input could make a big difference to enable everybody to enjoy Guernsey."

Guernsey Disability Alliance's (GDA) social policy officer Carol Le Page urged the States Highways and Infrastructure Committee to fully publish its improvement plans.

She said: "We understand improvements will not be carried out all at once but a systematic plan of improvements needs to be undertaken and made transparent."

Mr Le Page said: "Wherever we carry out road resurfacing now, we introduce dropped kerbs and tactile paving as standard at crossing points to improve accessibility."

He said the concerns about a dropped kerb being in the middle of a taxi rank would be looked at.

Work to audit the accessibility of States-owned buildings ahead of the 2028 deadline began earlier this month.