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ACT Election Campaign

The ACT Election is a prime time to raise awareness on how to make Canberra a truly inclusive and welcoming place for people with low vision or blindness.
The Guide Dogs Canberra office

The ACT Election is a great time to raise awareness about how to make Canberra a truly inclusive and welcoming place for people with low vision or blindness. The Guide Dogs NSW/ACT community has identified that inclusive and accessible pathways is crucial to achieving this. Guide Dogs NSW/ACT will undertake a public advocacy campaign centred around how to improve pathways and footpaths, including enhancing the Fix My Street complaints mechanism to ensure barriers on footpaths are adequately addressed in an appropriate timeframe. 

A person walking down a path outside using their cane.

The problem 

When footpaths aren’t well maintained, the risk of trips and falls increases for everyone, especially those with low vision or blindness. Having clear and accessible footpaths ensures everyone can continue to navigate the ACT without obstacles. However, our Clients have reported that they still experience barriers to footpaths every day. In a recent survey, 96 percent of respondents experienced challenges with footpaths in the past two years. This reduces confidence in accessing the community and is an overarching safety issue. 

The solution 

We appreciate what the ACT Government has done to streamline the method of providing feedback about obstacles on footpaths through the Fix My Street online feedback form. However, the responsiveness and prioritisation of this tool is not yet adequate. It can take months for an issue to be addressed and the notifier doesn’t hear back on the action taken to rectify the issue.  

The Fix My Street tool must address issues with a faster turnaround and provide a clear response to the notifier on what action was undertaken as a result. To achieve this, the government will need to: 

  • invest more resources into the Fix My Street tool; and 
  • create a brochure providing guidance on how to use the tool to ensure the steps to receive a prompt response are as clear as possible. 

The ask 

We are asking the ACT Government to amend the Fix My Street tool as a priority. We are also asking all candidates to demonstrate their commitment to accessibility and inclusion by signing up to be a Champion for Guide Dogs INSW/ACT. Upon becoming an Champion, MPs commit to bettering the response to obstacles on footpaths and streets by: 

  • advocating for a faster response time and resourcing for the Fix My Street tool; and  
  • receiving a post-election briefing on the key issues experienced by the low vision or blindness community in ACT.  

Raising awareness 

We plan to raise awareness of this issue by rallying the broader community to use the Fix My Street tool whenever they witness a footpath obstruction throughout the week from nine to 13 September 2024. We are also asking the broader community to post to social media to elevate the issue. 

Generating support 

We are undertaking a guided walk with participating members of parliament, ideally across every political party to demonstrate the current issues with footpaths in real time. 

Policy commitment 

We are asking each political party to commit to rectifying the Fix My Street tool. 

A black Guide Dog in Harness is walking across a crossing with a Handler.

Resources

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