Guide Dogs and the Royal Borough of Kensington and
Chelsea join forces on Exhibition Road project
18 June 2010
Guide Dogs and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea,
along with project partner Westminster City Council today announced
a joint agreement on the Royal Borough’s redevelopment of
Exhibition Road in London – home to some of the country’s finest
museums and cultural institutions.
The Judicial Review proceedings initiated by Guide Dogs have now
been put on ice following productive talks between the two
parties.
As part of the new agreement, Guide Dogs and other disability
organisations will work closely with the Council to continue the
earlier research on the corduroy paving, the tactile delineator
being used in the design to mark the pedestrian and traffic zones,
to check its effectiveness in real world trials on Exhibition
Road.
Richard Leaman, Chief Executive of Guide Dogs says: “Blind and
partially sighted people have told us that, for them, shared
surfaces are ambiguous and distressing environments which can stop
them from enjoying the independence and freedom that the rest of us
take for granted.
"Legal action was not something that Guide Dogs entered into
lightly but in working to secure the best outcome for blind and
partially sighted people, we believed it was the right course of
action. We are, however, delighted that we have been able to
negotiate an agreement with the Royal Borough of Kensington and
Chelsea and we look forward to working with them to deliver our
shared goal of making Exhibition Road fully inclusive."
Cllr Sir Merrick Cockell, the Leader of the Royal Borough of
Kensington and Chelsea says: "We are pleased that we have reached
an agreement with Guide Dogs that allows them to adjourn their
legal action. We have always believed that it is our duty to make
Exhibition Road a fitting setting for the world class institutions
it houses and accessible to everyone, including blind and partially
sighted people as well as people in wheelchairs; parents with
children, teenagers; older people and people with restricted
mobility. To that end we have worked with Guide Dogs and other
disability groups since the inception of the project to get the
best outcome for everyone."
The agreement was reached after the Royal Borough confirmed its
intention to conduct real world trials to test its proposed design
for Exhibition Road. Guide Dogs, and the other organisations that
are represented on the scheme’s Access Group, will be fully
consulted on how the trials will be conducted, and on the
evaluation of the results.
The Royal Borough has indicated that if the trials show that the
tactile paving is not sufficiently detectable or difficult to pass
over when approached at an angle they will make changes to the
design to ensure a safe environment for all road users.
Richard Leaman continues: "Guide Dogs welcomes the Royal
Borough’s commitment to ensuring that the development is as safe as
possible for all pedestrians – including blind and partially
sighted people. By working together, we should be able to ensure
that Exhibition Road meets the needs of everyone – so being truly
fit for the 21st century. This is a landmark agreement - our vision
is that this partnership will herald a new approach to the
development of street design in the UK."
The Royal Borough has also expressed its desire that pedestrians
should have priority on Exhibition Road and as part of the
agreement, Guide Dogs will support the Royal Borough’s application
to the Department for Transport to introduce a new sign for single
surface streets.
Guide Dogs together with other access representative groups will
be involved in the monitoring of the scheme after it is implemented
and they have agreed to work with the Royal Borough and Westminster
City Council to ensure that local blind and partially sighted
people understand how to navigate the new scheme.