Disability advocates have renewed calls for businesses to be mindful about where they place their sandwich boards after a person crashed into one recently.
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Orange councillor Glenn Taylor said people with low visibility or movement impairments have approached him saying sandwich boards are once again starting to encroach on footpaths creating a hazard.
He said people can be, and have been, injured as a result of crashing into the signs that are not placed close to a building wall.
He said able-bodied people could dodge the signs and walk around them but people with low vision do not see them in time, and people with mobility issues may not be able to easily stop or go around.
"It's a long-time since it was brought to the public's attention," Cr Taylor said.
Cr Taylor spent about 16 years on the community access committee and said footpath sandwich boards had always been an issue that was raised at the meetings by people with mobility problems or who had a vision impairment.
"It's been a long-held principal that they be placed responsibly so that they don't impede pedestrian traffic," Cr Taylor said.
"It seems to be that it's starting to raise its head again as being a problem.
"It's a safety issue and the footpath is a public place."
He said he held several campaigns over the years but there are a lot of new businesses and it was something people needed to be reminded of from time to time.
Cr Taylor said he was not blaming businesses for doing anything wrong and many people who do not have a disability would not realise it could be an issue.
"I'm not particularly blaming people, it's maybe people rushing out in the morning and not thinking about it," he said. "I know it's a tough time and businesses want to promote themselves."
Cr Taylor said he is just asking businesses to be responsible and place them as close to the building as possible to ensure as clear a path as possible along the city's busy footpaths.
"It's a shout out to businesses to be responsible where they place them," he said.
He said the sandwich boards were also an issue for people pushing prams, particularly if they were distracted by other children with them or if they were following a group of people who blocked their sight of the signs.
Cr Taylor said the disability access committee used to have an initiative where community and business leaders had a taste of what it was like to have a disability and were given tasks to complete while blindfolded or trying to navigate the CBD in a wheelchair.
Cr Taylor said he would like to see that initiative renewed for new participants to gain an understanding of obstacles that need to be navigated in public spaces throughout Orange.
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