Devonport City Council’s Access and Inclusion Working Group recently joined Council’s Engineering team on an inspection of kerbside ramps.
The Working Group was formed in late February and aims to help Council carry out the activities in the Devonport Disability Inclusion Plan. This includes providing advice on making Council information, services, and facilities available to all community members, as well as advocating for the rights of people with disability.
Devonport Mayor Annette Rockliff said it was wonderful to have members of the working group join staff on the recent kerbside inspections.
“There are a number of sites, that due to slope or other geometrical constraints, will not meet the accessibility standard so Council staff are hearing first-hand from users about functionality and ideas for suitable modifications,” said Cr Rockliff.
Naomi Ralph, member of the Working Group is happy to be given the opportunity to provide feedback on the ramps.
“With one in four Devonport residents living with disability it is important that we pass on our ideas to Council for making everyday activities, such as moving around, easy and safe.
“It was great to have an in-depth conversation about the types of kerbs and work out how the different slopes affect our daily movements. I am passionate about seeing our paths and kerbs updated more so we can easily access the community more by foot. That’s one thing that excites me about being involved in the working group,” said Ms Ralph.
The Access and Inclusion Working Group have met twice and discussed topics ranging from creating inclusive health and wellbeing programs, to the involvement of people with disability in decision-making and feedback on improving Council’s public infrastructure.
“So far, the group have had lots of positive discussion about how to make Devonport a better place to live for all people.
“We’ve developed a short list of projects listed in the Disability Inclusion Plan that we will be working on this year. In the coming month we are working on a submission to the Australian Government on the disability standards for accessible public transport,” said Ms Ralph.
