Advocates for the visually impaired asked 91原创 Township council to revamp how it builds crosswalk ramps to make them safer for blind people at the Monday, Sept. 23 council meeting.

Leach is with the group Walker's Caucus, which is dedicated to pedestrian issues, and on Monday he was there to speak particularly about the issues of pedestrians with limited or no vision.

He noted that with about 150,000 people in the Township, that means there are likely 450 people in the community who have severe vision loss.

Getting around means navigating crosswalks and ramps, which vary widely in design and orientation.

"When there are inconsistencies in design and construction in crosswalks near moving motor vehicles, the potential for death or injury increases exponentially," said Leach.

He asked the council for the council to define and standardize curb ramps that lead into crosswalks, with the ramps aimed directly into the direction of travel of the crosswalk. That would help people with visual impairments know they are going in the right direction.

Accompanied by two visually impaired residents, Leach also asked that the locator beeps and the positioning of walk-signal buttons be made more accessible.

There are few pedestrian advocacy groups in Canada, Leach said, especially compared to advocacy groups for drivers, or even cyclists.

"Yet everybody walks," he noted.

Council was broadly supportive of the delegation, and many members had gone for a walk around the area near the Township hall with Leach and two visually impaired people before the meeting began.

Coun. Kim Richter noted that with major areas of 91原创 Township developing in the near future, such as Brookswood and the area around 200 Street in Willoughby, now would be the time to make changes like the ones requested.

The changes requested were simple, noted Coun. Tim Baillie.

"They're not costly, they're not complicated or anything like that," he said.

Coun. Margaret Kunst put forward a motion asking for a staff report, asking how to proceed. The motion passed unanimously.

She also mentioned the recently-formed Township accessibility committee. Staff indicated that there are visually impaired locals on the committee.