A partially sighted Harrogate man has said it’s ‘shameful’ that many pedestrian crossings in Harrogate town centre do not make a beeping noise to let blind or visually impaired people know it is safe to cross.
John Raho, 80, relies on the noise to help him cross the road safely when vehicles stop and the green man appears.
But from the top of Cheltenham Parade up Station Parade and to the Victoria Avenue junction, 9 out of 10 crossings did not make any noise at all when the Stray Ferret tested them yesterday.
Similarly, the crossing by the Odeon cinema does not make a beeping noise.
Mr Raho said:
“I rely on the beep as a reassurance but I noticed that so many of them are not working.
“They are an essential bit of kit. It’s not big science.”
This crossing on Station Parade does not currently make a beeping noise.
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North Yorkshire County Council, which is in charge of highways in the district, is not legally obliged to add beeping noises to pedestrian crossings.
To avoid confusion, it might not have two machines beeping that are close together.
Some crossings may also have a small plastic or metal cone that can be touched. It turns when the green man lights up to indicate it is safe to cross.
This pelican crossing is the only one that beeps on Station Parade.
‘A reassurance’
However, Mr Raho said the beeping noise should be essential to improve town centre access for visually impaired people.
He said:
“It’s a reassurance for me, for others with worse eyesight it’s absolutely essential. You have to be careful.”
Mr Raho said he can just about make out a blurry green man on the other side of the road, but without a sound to guide him, he tries to take his cue from other people.
“It’s alright if other people are crossing, but people do rush across the road.
“If someone gets knocked down, then it is bad news.”
A North Yorkshire County Council spokesperson asked Mr Raho to report any machines that are not working correctly via its website. They added that until he did so it was unable to comment.
Bid to create 90-resident Harrogate care homePlans have been submitted to demolish Tate House care home on Wetherby Road and replace it with a much larger care facility.
The sight-loss charity the Royal National Institute of Blind People sold the building for £1,650,000 in June.
It is now run as a joint venture by private care home providers Angela Swift Developments, which is based in Harrogate, and Burlington Care, which operates 31 care comes in Lincolnshire and northern England.
The home, which received a ‘good’ rating in its most recent Care Quality Commission report in 2018, currently accommodates up to 39 older residents.
The proposed new building would be three storeys tall and accommodate up to 90 people.
The building, opposite Harrogate Town’s football stadium, was built in 1930 and has had several extensions.
The planning application claims the proposed development will bring up to 70 new jobs to the local community, including nurses, support workers, management and admin staff.
An artist’s impression of the proposed new care home.
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Wetherby Road has another care home, Berwick Grange, which is designed for people living with dementia.
Earlier this year, Harrogate Borough Council granted planning permission to demolish the Greenfield Court care home on Wetherby Road, to eventually make way for 52 retirement apartments.
Harrogate Borough Council will consider the application in due course.