Calls to ensure that people with sight loss are remembered as the city council continues its plans to encourage active travel have been made by a Glasgow councillor.

The latest proposals to encourage people to rely less on private cars while promoting the Glasgow Transport and Active Travel Strategies are part of the council’s plans to achieve its net zero carbon emissions and a minimum reduction of 30% in car kilometres travelled by 2030.

When they were outlined to were members of the city administration committee last Thursday however concerns were raised on behalf of the visually impaired over what consultation had taken place to ensure no one is at a disadvantage when it comes to rolling out active travel routes. 

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Councillor Saqib Ahmed said: “As far as I can see there are no organisations representing those with a disability – specifically those with visual impairment – can I ask what steps did the council take to try and engage with those groups in the development of this strategy.

“Given that those with a disability face very different challenges to switching to active travel and adapting to changes brought about by more active travel.

“How do we know what kind of issues people are facing when they are travelling to the city centre and other parts of Glasgow where there is active travel?”

Councillor Angus Millar, convenor of transport and climate said that disability groups had been included in the council’s consultation process and that the local authority would continue to engage with them. 

Councillor Millar said: “Obviously disability groups have been included in dialogue throughout the development of the overarching travel strategy of which this is a very close partner.

“The council and the various teams within NRS will engage on an ongoing basis with a variety of disability groups and we have discussed at committee recently how the council engages with some of those different stakeholders as part of the accessible inclusive design forum.

“The overarching active travel strategy also involved considerable engagement from different disability groups.”

Following the meeting, the convenor said the behaviour change strategy would play a “key role” in unlocking a new era for active travel in Glasgow. 

He added: “Our travel habits are central to Glasgow’s health and wellbeing and the economy and can also help us deliver on climate action. The new strategy will help ensure we gain the greatest return on our investments in physical infrastructure and service improvements.

“The strategy addresses the barriers to travelling more sustainably and will help make our streets feel safer for walking, wheeling and cycling.

“Encouraging people to break their reliance on private car travel is a significant challenge. Local residents will be at the heart of the work to transform travel behaviour and we want to empower people to make positive changes to how they get about Glasgow.”