The charity Guide Dogs, which had been granted permission to pursue a judicial review against the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) for its shared space scheme on Exhibition Road, London, has announced that it is to put its legal action on hold in order to work with RBKC on the plans. As part of this agreement, Guide Dogs and other disability organisations will work with RBKC to continue earlier research on the corduroy tactile delineator which has been proposed to distinguish between the pedestrian and traffic zones to check its effectiveness in trials on Exhibition Road.

Guide Dogs and the other organisations that are represented on the scheme’s Access Group are to be consulted on how the trials will be conducted, and on the evaluation of the results. RBKC has indicated that if the trials show that the tactile paving is not sufficiently detectable they will make changes to the design. RBKC has also stated that it wishes pedestrians to have priority on Exhibition Road, and Guide Dogs will now support the council’s application to the Department for Transport to introduce a new sign for single surface streets. Guide Dogs and other groups working in access will be involved in the monitoring of the scheme after it is implemented and they have agreed to work with the RBKC to ensure that visually impaired people understand how to navigate the new scheme.

Richard Leaman, Chief Executive of Guide Dogs said: ‘By working together, we should be able to ensure that Exhibition Road meets the needs of everyone, so being truly fit for the 21st century. This is a landmark agreement - our vision is that this partnership will herald a new approach to the development of street design in the UK.’

Councillor Sir Merrick Cockell, the Leader of RBKC said: ‘We are pleased that we have reached an agreement with Guide Dogs that allows them to adjourn their legal action. We have always believed that it is our duty to make Exhibition Road a fitting setting for the world class institutions it houses and accessible to everyone. To that end we have worked with Guide Dogs and other disability groups since the inception of the project to get the best outcome for everyone.’

For the full story, visit the Guide Dogs website
http://tinyurl.com/exhibition-road-agreement