Fifteen local authorities across the country will take part in the first-ever national Make Way Day on Wednesday 26 September, alongside leading disability organisations to call for greater public awareness of the needs of people with disabilities in public spaces.
Disability groups and organisations from all over the county will highlight obstacles such as:
- Cars or vans parked on a footpath blocking the way.
- Bicycle/motorbikes chained to lampposts creating a trip hazard for a visually impaired person.
- Illegally placed sandwich boards, forgotten bins, barrels and other obstructions.
- A blitz of social media posts (videos, photographs) with the hashtags #MakeWayDay and #MakeWayFingal.
Among groups taking part in Fingal is the Centre for Independent Living in Blanchardstown. Residents are also reminded that Route 4U, a free footpath navigation app and information system for wheelchair and pram users, can be downloaded for both iOS or Android devices. The disability initiative has been developed by Fingal County Council, in partnership with Dublin City Council and Enterprise Ireland.
The database is kept constantly up-to-date by volunteers who can either be able-bodied people who simply download the app and report obstacles they bump into or wheelchair users who switch on the “auto-survey” function as they roll along the footpaths, activating their phone sensors to collect data automatically.
Mayor of Fingal Cllr Anthony Lavin said: “Accessibility effects parents trying to get buggies and prams about our communities, so hopefully this initiative will help to make our community spaces more accessible to all our pedestrians whether they are disabled or not.“
Visit www.makewayday.com for more info including an updated list of events taking place.
For the following side panel – can you make sure this goes on Facebook Page and make sure to link up as many local authorities as poss?
Local authorities taking part:
- Dublin City Council
- South Dublin
- Fingal
- Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown
- Cork City
- Cork County
- Limerick
- Meath
- Wexford
- Wicklow
- Kildare
- Kilkenny
- Louth
- Galway City
- Offaly