Mayor urges people to 'be aware’ of accessibility on Make Way Day
By Rebekah O'Reilly
The impact of obstacles such as parked cars, wheelie bins and street signs on people with disabilities were highlighted during the seventh Make Way Day in Athlone on Friday.
The initiative aims to highlight accessibility issues in local communities, and to make day-to-day travel simpler for visually impaired or disabled people.
It was first started in 2017 by the The Disability Federation of Ireland in Dublin, and was extended nationwide after its success.
When asked about the aim of the initiative, Make Way Day organiser and Athlone Access Awareness John Tynan said: “It's all about awareness. People from organisations across the country will be out today to raise awareness about accessibility issues.
“[We want to raise] awareness in relation to cars parked on footpaths, and how they can be a hindrance to people using mobility aids. It can be wheelie bins, low-hanging trees or signs on footpaths that can impede a person's journey.”
Mayor of Athlone Frankie Keena highlighted the key changes made to the infrastructure in Athlone to make the town more accessible.
“I would engage regularly with Athlone Access Awareness group and Independent People With Disabilities, and I'm also the chairman of the Athlone branch of the Irish Wheelchair Association so I link in regularly with the relevant groups.
“When we went through the development stages of the Church Street works, I got these groups to come in to meet with council planners to have their say on what they would like to see.
“On Church Street now we have wide pavements which makes it more comfortable to use the main street. Also, we have the pedestrianised street from Dunnes Stores to Athlone Town Centre which makes it more pleasant for people with disabilities to meet their friends in comfort, and to not have passing traffic going by.”
Speaking about new developments which aim to make the town more accessible, Cllr Keena shared that Westmeath County Council are planning a new initiative called Active Travel.
“[It aims to] provide wide footpaths, and cycles lanes. There's six main routes into the town, and the consultants and the engineers are creating a plan [to make those more accessible].”
The Make Way Day initiative has seen great changes over the years with issues highlighted by the campaign. Speaking at the event, Brendon Campbell highlighted some of these improvements.
“There are a lot of positives. Things have been done since this time last year. The changing places [in Athlone Civic Centre] is a fabulous facility. One of the really big things is the footpath across from the Fair Green car park – that has been rectified,” he said.
Brendon added: "There's this word called disability. I urge people to see your ability."