YP Letters: Route planning could help wheelchair users

From: David Mitchell, National Chairman, The British Polio Fellowship.
By The Newsroom
Published 26th Dec 2018, 11:51 BST
Updated 8th Jan 2019, 16:58 BST
Paralymian Hannah Cockroft and Skipton Building Society have been at the forefront of a new campaign on disability access.Paralymian Hannah Cockroft and Skipton Building Society have been at the forefront of a new campaign on disability access.
Paralymian Hannah Cockroft and Skipton Building Society have been at the forefront of a new campaign on disability access.

AFTER reading several news stories regarding lack of accessibility for wheelchair users, I welcome reports of 
a new scheme in Ireland 
that will make it easier for 
people in wheelchairs to manoeuvre around 
footpaths.

Many members of The British Polio Fellowship are wheelchair users and with so many difficulties navigating transport and footpaths, it is good to see developers, councils and users working together to deliver systems making life easier.

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The Route4U app, developed by Fingal County Council and Dublin City Council, compiles data on footpath obstacles, surface quality and kerb heights in crossing, as well as widths and inclines of footpaths.

Using this data, the app is able to provide route planning and navigation for wheelchair users, customised to ability, but would doubtless assist parents with prams too if we can put an end 
to the scourge of pavement parking.

This is a fantastic example 
of how technology can help 
the 120,000 people with Post Polio Syndrome (PPS) and 
some 13 million people living with a disability, many of 
whom rely on wheelchairs and scooters.

Related topics:Ireland