I am 70 years old and I’ve lived in Scotland for four years; I am visual impaired and cannot drive because of eyesight, I also have hearing loss. I am active and do all sorts of things. I am only able to walk in my town because there are no local buses. This causes the feeling of being unsafe – there are no or narrow pavements, only two light-controlled crossing. NO light-controlled crossroads. Many roads. Junctions with wide entrances and no clear crossing points on main trunk road and other busy roads. Lack of lighting. Because of these barriers, I am very restricted in what I can do independently, I can’t walk to countryside except on two roads. I need to carry everything and a cane, so I need help to shop often as any route is challenging. At night, in dull conditions or in bright sunlight, I struggle to see enough to be safe. It makes me feel very anxious and feel increasingly dependent and trapped.
I’ve tried to take action. I spoke and wrote to the people who were introducing what they thought were improvements.
They did not move a bus stop, which was a relief. That was the only thing they changed; the “improvements” are partly done. They are not up to standard and are often dangerous in my opinion for the visual impaired and less often for wheelchair users.