In My Way: New RNIB report on walking reveals the unnecessary and dangerous barriers on our streets
Street obstacles like pavement parking and overgrown greenery are preventing blind and partially sighted people across the UK from walking around safely and confidently. RNIB’s new report, In My Way: Navigating pedestrian journeys with sight loss, reveals the scale and seriousness of these obstacles and highlights the steps that the UK Government, devolved administrations and local authorities should take to make our streets more inclusive.
What you told us
The In My Way report, which is the second in a series spotlighting blind and partially sighted people’s experience of getting around, is based on a survey of nearly 1,200 UK wide respondents, along with focus groups. Thank you to anyone who took part.
The report highlights that, while the street environment is crucial to blind and partially sighted people being able to make the journeys they want and need to, significant barriers to getting around mean that more than half (61 per cent) say that they are not able to make all of the journeys they want or need to. Just 9 per cent strongly agree that they feel safe making independent walking journeys in their neighbourhood.
The five biggest barriers to pedestrian journeys reported by blind and partially sighted people were:
- cars or other vehicles parked on pavement: 82 per cent
- cracked, uneven or otherwise poor quality pavement: 71 per cent
- temporary or movable obstacles like bin bags or a-boards: 56 per cent
- shared space with cyclists or e-scooter riders: 52 per cent
- lack of accessible pedestrian crossings: 44 per cent.
Persistently encountering these barriers can be exhausting, causing anxiety and making every day journeys even more challenging. In some cases these are also causing injuries that can be serious - 11 per cent of those who told RNIB they’d been injured by a street obstacle in the previous three months said they had injuries serious enough to need hospital treatment, including for broken bones and broken teeth.
RNIB Policy Lead, Erik Matthies, who has sight loss, said:
“Streets across the UK have transformed significantly in recent years, with new pavement dining areas, more cycle lanes, e-scooters and silent electric vehicles becoming commonplace. Yet, while technology and public understanding have advanced in many areas, blind and partially sighted people are now facing more barriers in the street environment than ever before.”
Lucy Edwards, Broadcaster, disability activist and content creator, said:
“Like many other blind and partially sighted people, being able to travel independently is a huge part of my life. My guide dog, Miss Molly, and I rely on safe streets to get to work, meet friends, go to appointments or just pop to the shops.”
How to make our streets more accessible
RNIB is calling on the UK Government, devolved administrations, and local authorities to take practical action with a series of key policy recommendations which can be found in full in the report.
National and local decision makers need to step up and play their part in making streets work for everyone. Local Authorities should maintain pavements during roadworks. They also need to better monitor food delivery courier cyclists, and regulate hire bikes and e-scooters where powers are devolved and hire schemes exist.
A UK wide law against pavement parking needs to be brought in and then enforced as a priority. The UK Government should also work with disabled people and street environment professionals to create inclusive standards that can be robustly enforced, so all pedestrians can get around in a safe and accessible way.
Ask your Councillor for accessible streets
If you live in England or Wales, we’ve prepared a letter for you to send to your local Councillor, highlighting the barriers blind and partially sighted people face. The letter explains what councils can do to solve the issues where you live.
You’ll also have the chance to personalise the letter and tell your Councillor about the barriers you face when walking in your local area, whether it's a pavement blocked by parked cars, a dangerous crossing or a route you avoid altogether.
Read more on travel and transport
Aside from walking, you also told us about how you find getting around by bus and on trains. The ‘All aboard?’ report on bus travel was published in May, and we’ll be sharing findings on train travel soon.
In the meantime, to read the findings in full you can visit the below page on the RNIB website.
