What Would You Like to See in the Street Charter?

Street charter

The following bullet points are the result of round table discussions at the Campaign Convention 2014.

Wheelie bins need to be addressed. Councils should leave bins in a sensible place after emptying
Could we put fluorescent strips on bins and bollards
Could we ask bin crews, local residents to put the bins away?
The bin lorries are unreliable. No-one takes responsibility. The bins are flung back on the pavement. We need a good policy enforced. Would be good to put the wheelie bin back on private property, rather than on the curb or pavement.
Wheelie bins – whose responsibility is it? Each household often has multiple bins

Many people thought we should outlaw shared space
Any system which depends upon eye contact shouldn’t happen
Are we working with Age UK on shared spaces?
LAs don’t design shared spaces themselves, designers make cash. Should we beapproaching designers to influence them?

Some householders have to park on pavement otherwise there is not enough room for cars to get along the road.
Police often say if the car has gone there is nothing they can do.
Taxis and cars parked outside schools can be problematic
Vans parked outside shops and bus stops – deliveries before and after 6pm can be tricky

Does over hanging branches count as an obstruction?
Councils should maintain overhanging branches and bushes on council properties
Hanging trees often obstruct paths. If these come from a private property there can be a legal fight to get them cut back
Trees in the middle of pavements are not well maintained

Repair broken dropped curbs - the drop is not always reinstated.
Cracked pavements should be maintained (they cause bad falls)
Important to fix loose paving
Crucial to keep footpaths clear
There should be a minimum standard for the width across on foot paths – if that space is not available due to small pavements then no clutter should be allowed at all
Where pavements are wide – rules should be clear in terms of decoration and position. A physical boundary should be present
Puddles collecting on pavement and dipped paving can be difficult to walking along. We should report to LA for repairs
When wet pavements can be like an ice rink. Metal tactile paving and marble brick are very slippery. This doesn’t just affect partially sighted people, it can affect people with buggies and wheelchair users.
When curbs go down, we need the tactile bit to show where to walk. It would be good if the tactile section was bigger as it’s very easy to over shoot.
Tactile paving gets worn down very quickly
Duty to clear snow and ice off pavements. Each local area does something different.
Tactile pavements- sometimes there is an overload and it’s put in the wrong places.
Can we put borders around any open hole to prevent people falling into it.
Often there can be cars on driveways which go out into the road, and there is no way of knowing this which can often result in collisions.
Lampposts are a challenge
Local authority say pavement is a police issue, police say it’s a local authority issue

They should have an accessible and simple complaints process
They must find a way to enforce the rules – often there is a lack of resources to do this.
Planners need to have awareness of the issues -LAs can be dismissive of disability
There need to be meaningful consultations with time to respond. Often councils say they have already consulted but they usually have a select group of people they go to each time. Also sometimes developments have progressed too far and it’s too late to input any changes.
There should be a stronger enforcement of cafe licensing
We need to be sure who to go to and campaign. Currently it’s hard to know who does what.It would be useful to have a ‘who’s who?’ for us to contact the right people.
Council officers pass the buck to different departments within the council
Often LAs blame previous planners and are unwilling or unable to make the changes
Councils should sign up to abide by equality act and highways act
Local authority should inform new businesses of regulations
It can be difficult to prosecute as they have to catch the people in action
Clearly define which matters are to be dealt with by the local authority and which by the police
If all local authorities stood up to zero tolerance policy and could fine those who don’t stick to it.
Easier for the police to have a zero tolerance rather than licensing.
Local authorities often say they don’t have a solution.

All crossings should have spinning cones/signals
Well positioned crossings should be near tactile paving and in the position where you are trying to cross the road
When putting up new pedestrian crossings sometimes the crossings have had audio removed or have a time of day when they don’t work. This isn’t good.
It should be illegal for cars to jumps lights, like using a mobile phone when driving
Audio cone crossings need to be maintained.

The position of signs needs to be thought about. Often guide dogs can get round them but if the sign has fallen over often the dogs have to go off the curb while there are cars going past.
Can temporary signage have solid bottoms? Otherwise small and light a-boards with metal legs get blown over in a few minutes. Maybe sand bags could keep them in place. However this wouldn’t stop people falling over.
Signs are often camouflaged
Many campaigners think there should be no A-boards
There should be a universal standard for signs
The positioning of signs is problematic. They are often too low or too high. Traffic signs often hang so low you can bump your head on them. Road signs are too high for people to read

Bollards blocking the pavement – what is their purpose? Would be good to have the bollards a collar so there is some contrast. Council often don’t know what the point of bollards are. Black bollards can’t be seen in the dark. In Wigan bollards are black with a white marking at the top which makes them more visible
No unnecessary use of bollards
Positioning of bollards and lamp posts in the middle of footpaths. Often the colour of them is the same as the floor. Would be good is the floor and lamppost could contrast.
When an event is on in town, often you walk along and can’t see things so have to use your cane. Maybe bollards could be used to make an event.
Could we put fluorescent strips on bins and bollards

Public seating – again there is no contrast. As the cane goes underneath it can mean people catch their shin on the seat.
Seating – there needs to be colour contrast

Could there be license or training for users of electronic scooters. Maybe a speed limit as well?
Often railings don’t go down to the floor (e.g costa coffee) and also on one edge of curbs – by crossings
Bike stands are sometimes tied to rail crossings when they shouldn’t be. We need to raise awareness among bike users.
Guide dogs aren’t great with cyclists. Cyclists think dogs will just stop.
We need warning about electric buses and cars – people can’t hear them

What is legal recourse?
Could we have a name and shame – if you have a photo send it in, should we receive responses if we do this?

RNIB to work with European parliament to find out what is happening in other countries. Is there a joint strategy?
Can all campaigners have access to successful case studies so that they can use these to convince local authorities?

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