Paralympic champion and anti-shared space campaigner, Lord Holmes, has launched a survey to find out more about attitudes to the controversial public realm design.
In a statement, Britain’s most successful Paralympic swimmer - with a tally including 9 gold medals - said there was ‘a pressing need for more extensive and up to date information’ on shared space and highlighted that the number of schemes is increasing.
In the hope of producing a national picture of all people using shared space schemes and their experiences of them, Lord Holmes has drawn up a survey here
Lord Holmes states: ‘It is imperative that we take a proper look at the consequences of these schemes before it is too late. I hope this survey will cast some much needed light on the unintended but nevertheless terrible impact shared space schemes are having on so many people.'
Shared space schemes minimize demarcations between vehicle traffic and pedestrians, removing features such as curbs, road surface markings and controlled crossings.
Promoters of the design claim it is actually safer than cluttering roads with street furniture as it fosters a culture of considerate driving, however disabled people have raised fears that they are being put at risk by the design and have been shut out of local areas as a result.
