At this month’s full council meeting, Cllr. Tim Thomas (Ind, St. Bride’s Minor & Ynysawdre) asked what Bridgend Council were doing to ensure highways were accessible for the disabled and elderly.
Cllr. Thomas and Cllr. Mark John (also Ind, St. Bride’s Minor & Ynysawdre) recently went on a ward walk with a constituent who is a wheelchair user to learn from their experience.
Cllr. Thomas was pleased that in the written response that accessibility is a priority for new-build developments. However, he wondered whether the council has undertaken an audit on how suitable existing street furniture is.
An officer confirmed that while highway infrastructure is regularly inspected, there wasn’t a detailed, specific audit of street furniture (to his knowledge).
In a follow-up question, Cllr. Melanie Evans (Lab, Pencoed & Penprysg) noted that in the written response, Bridgend Council said more than 260 locations have seen investment in drop kerbs over the last year. She asked where these were.
Cabinet Member for Communities, Cllr. John Spanswick (Lab, Brackla West Central), said the majority of the drop kerbs were installed in Porthcawl, with additional work undertaken in Pencoed, Wildmill, Brackla and Bridgend town centre. He described this as “great progress” over the last year.
