[accessibleimage] Thumbs up for tactile signs

This is South Devon (UK)
Monday, June 06, 2005

Thumbs up for tactile signs

By TINA CROWSON

Tactile signs should take any embarrassment out of finding the ladies or =
gents toilets in a pub or restaurant for people with less than perfect =
vision.

The issue of more user-friendly signs for the visually impaired has been =
raised by the Torbay Environment Access Meeting (TEAM), a group of people =
with disabilities, in discussions with officers from Torbay Council. They =
expressed concern about the lack of provision of tactile signs on toilet =
doors, but now the council has come up with a solution.

It has obtained a supply of signs which are available for sale at =A315 =
each, or =A325 for the pair.

Six inches square, the signs depict the widely used man and woman motifs, =
slightly raised on the surface. They have the words men and women which =
are also in Braille.

Cllr Steve Darling, Torbay Council's equality and diversity champion, and =
who is himself visually impaired, said: "This is a great idea and I am =
sure it will be appreciated by all those people who, like me, have =
difficulty in finding our way to the toilet in places we haven't previously=
 visited."

TEAM members meet regularly to discuss planning and access issues in =
Torbay.

One of their activities is to visit local pubs and restaurants to assess =
them for such things as disabled access and staff awareness of disability.

They discuss issues with staff and see if improvements can be made.

Any pub or restaurant which would like a set of these signs should contact =
Andy Young at Torbay Council on 01803 208823

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