Better for people with disabilities

How can we offer equity of access for people with disabilities?

People with disabilities include people with:

• limited mobility, e.g. use a cane or wheelchair,
• neuro-cognitive disorders,
• neuro-developmental and/or intellectual disabilities,
• blindness or low vision, and
• deafness or hard of hearing.

Status of infrastructure in Yarra

Unfortunately, many footpaths in Yarra are too narrow, obstructed, sloping, bumpy, or discontinuous. In addition, most public transport stops aren’t level access. Neighbouring councils have similarly poor infrastructure, leading to protests, such as this in the City of Moreland:

Disability Discrimination Act

The Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992 requires State Governments to upgrade infrastructure to offer equity of access, including level access public transport stops. To date, compliance with the Act has not been achieved.

State Government policy

The Victorian State Government has released multiple policies and action plans, but has failed to deliver the infrastructure required.

The plan has an admirable vision and statement of priorities, including universal design and improved access for public transport.

Streets Alive Yarra supports the principle of universal design that is highlighted in the plan, and calls on the State Government to actually implement the principle, including:

• fund the Department of Transport to upgrade all public transport stops to level access by 2030, and
• fund Local Government to upgrade all footpaths so they have a minimum unobstructed width of 2 metres, are smooth, level, and continue at grade when crossing minor side streets.

Yarra policy

The City of Yarra has adopted an Access and Inclusion Policy 2018-2024.

The document includes two important strategies, but unfortunately the Action Plan part of the document fails to translate these strategies into actions that will actually deliver effective outcomes.

What Yarra can do

The City of Yarra can clarify key elements of policy, and then fund improvements via LAPMs, including:

• Footpaths should have a minimum unobstructed width of 2 metres, increasing to 4.5 metres on busy shopping streets
• Footpaths should be smooth and level, with a paving and texture that is different to the asphalt used on roads
• Footpaths on collector streets and shopping streets should continue at grade, i.e. be continuous, when crossing side streets
• Cross-overs, e.g. for driveways, should not impact on, detract from or alter the slope of footpaths or the observable priority of footpaths
• Triple number of parking bays that are reserved for people with disabilities, across the municipality

Guidance from MRCagney

Bridget Burdett from MRCagney has published guidance on measures for inclusive access in transport:

Design guides

Learn more from this collection of design guides; including the video below from ISEMOA and Cities for All; or the “Cycling for everyone” guide from ARUP and Sustrans:

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