Tom Chambers welcomes the 90.000 Euros grant

Disability Campaigner welcomes Funds for Westport Area
Access campaigner Tom Chambers of Newport has warmly welcomed the allocation of €90,000 by Westport Town Council for Access works in the town over the coming year.
At the March monthly meeting Westport Town Council adopted a Roadwork’s scheme for works for this year totalling €615,000 which will cover works in the town including traffic calming on the Quay Road, resurfacing of the Mill Street Car Park and a new badly needed footpath at the Point. Westport Town Council has made a provision of €90,000 for access improvements in the town. There statement says “ we propose to make Westport as accessible as possible for all and this €90,000 allocation is part of your commitment to that goal”.
Mr Chambers says all works should be totally accessible and while the money is very welcome it is very important that it is spent correctly on access issues and not spent about the place repairing paths that should be repaired anyway. The money for access work should only be spent on works such new ramps, road crossing and controlled lights, wheelchair accessible toilet and designated parking bays for wheelchair users displaying EU badges, etc.
"I have written to the Town Council on this issue and I look forward working with them to properly identify areas where these monies can do the most benefit for people with all kinds of disabilities. Flags or trophies are not much good for people with disabilities” states Mr. Chambers.
As a disabled person I have spent a sizable amount of my life trying to improve access. At times it has been extremely frustrating, time consuming and annoying. It is like asking for the stars, moon and sun. Rather than have the same rights to access our community as our non-disabled peers. Unfortunately as in other towns, Westport town have builders, architects and town planners still see equal access as an after thought or an additional cost rather than something people should have as of right. It is important to recognise that access is not only about, equal access to the built environment, organisations also need to review access to information/communication systems, transport education, employment and leisure activities, he added..

Finally, If one or more of our public representations were denied access to everyday things then laws would change and solutions found, so I hope the work is carried out with the aim in making the town of Westport totally accessible for all and it is only then can we encourage our disabled friends to Westport Town, and it will be a start as “Good Designs Enables, Bad Designs Disabled”.