Blind people tell of dangerous Glasgow city centre

A catalogue of problems, obstacles and hazards faced by people on a daily basis has been highlighted at a meeting calling for safer streets.

Cyclists on the pavement, broken pedestrian signals, street ‘furniture’ parking on pavements, ‘floating’ bus stops on cycle lanes, ‘badly designed’ new junctions, and outdoor café seating were among the list of dangers facing people.

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Pam Duncan-Glancy, Labour Glasgow MSP and Robert Mooney, Labour councillor, for Canal, organised the meeting to hear concerns.

Most people said while there have always been problems it has become far more difficult and dangerous to navigate the city centre streets.

Mark McClenaghan, who is registered blind, said several of the cones at crossings used by people with sight problems to tell them to cross are broken.

He highlighted the number of cyclists using pavements and pedestrian areas.

He said: “I’ve been crashed into three times and I got told ‘look where you’re going’.

“Cyclists are not adhering to the traffic lights.”

Mr McClenaghan said it is not safe for blind people.

He added: “Accessibility, getting about the city centre as a blind person, you are taking your life in your hands.

“It’s not just blind people, it’s people with wheelchairs or buggies.

“It has got to the stage where people are not leaving the house because it is too difficult.”

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Duncan-Glancy, who uses a wheelchair, said: “It’s an assault course to get across the city centre.”

Elaine Perry, a guide dog owner told how the condition of the streets led to a serious injury.

She said: “The city centre is getting worse.

“The paving is now shocking. I fractured my rib when my long cane got stuck in a broken pavement and went into my rib.

"There is less tactile paving now. The metal tactile paving is lethal and the street furniture is getting out of hand.

“It is all putting me off coming into the city centre.”

Alan Stewart, who is registered blind said: “The situation is getting worse. I don’t expect the city streets to be designed around my needs but just not to have obstacles put in my way.

Councillor Mooney, said: “We have been raising these issues for some time but don’t seem to be getting very far.”

He noted the problem with bikes on the pavement and said: “When you can’t see or hear them it’s horrendous.”

He said: “You would think things would be easier for people with disabilities in the 21st century but it’s more difficult trying to navigate the city than it was 30 years ago.”

A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council said: “Making a visit to the city centre as attractive as we can for everyone is a key aim for the council, and current street and pavement design looks to meet the needs of all groups who use the area. 

“We have engaged extensively with a wide variety of groups through the planning process and other methods in recent years to help achieve this, and more recently we established the Accessible and Inclusive Design Forum to take the views of a wide range of groups into account when design and creating new public realm in the city. 

“On occasion, the aspirations of different groups for the design of these projects cannot be wholly reconciled, and the Forum can play a useful role in informing a final design that meets as many of the needs of different groups as possible. 

“In terms of the issue of A-Boards inappropriately placed – or cyclists riding on – city centre pavements, these are matters that the premises and cyclists concerned should of course not be doing.”