Hi sue,
Just thought i would add my penny's worth to the debate.
My own view is that there are no legal duties for highway departments to
provide such a provision outside a private dwelling. I would be inclined
toward Alan's suggestion that a general dropped crossing point be installed
within a reasonable distance of the dwelling which could be utilised by many
more people. I assume that the request was for just a single dropped kerb
without a similar one being provided opposite? The general dropped kerb
would, of course, provide an entry point as well as an exit point.
I ran this query past our Area Engineer to get his response. He replied:
"I'm sorry but I'm not sure if we have a 'duty' to provide a dropped kerb
outside a disabled person's residence but will consult my legal section and
let you know as soon as I can. What I can tell you is we have an allocation
for providing dropped kerbs for disabled people, parents pushing prams and
the elderly who find a full kerb face difficult to negotiate. We will
consider all applications we receive and prioritise them within the
available budget. Any I cannot fund all the requests I receive this
financial year (Apr 05 to Mar 06) they will role over to next financial
year."
If I receive any reply regarding the legal situation I will let you know.
Meanwhile, another factor to bear in mind is, would any such provision need
to be provided with a tactile warning surface? Driveways don't, but as you
say, this is not a driveway and presumably the resident wishes the kerb to
be flush rather than having the upstand associated with the driveway.
Hope this helps a little.
Regards.
John.
John Gregory
Access Officer
Cherwell District Council
-----Original Message-----
From: Sue Fox [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 11 May 2005 16:08
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [ACCESSIBUILT] Dropped kerb provision for
disabled people
Your thoughts please..........
Do Local Authorities have any duty to provide a dropped kerb
for disabled
people outside their dwelling? The kerb would be 900mm wide,
and not for
vehicles.
Is this a reasonable adjustment under the DDA?
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