A LEADING association for the blind has highlighted the dangers of the new-look road scheme in Northumberland Place. The £400,00 scheme designed to create a continental-feel includes flush paving with the highway, a feature that the Guide Dog for the Blind Association says is dangerous for the visually impaired. Michael Bladen, a white cane user, took guide dog rehabilitation worker Alun Gwernan-Jones on a guided tour on Friday. He called the association because of difficulties that he and other partially sighted people are having with the scheme. Teignmouth has become a top holiday destination for the blind and partially sighted due to the nearby Action for Blind People hotel at Cliffden. Mr Bladen, of Headway Rise, said: 'There is no longer a physical edge between the road and pavement so people who are blind or partially sighted like I am do not know if they stumble into a danger zone. 'If there was tactile paving, we could use the cane to feel the edge and guide dogs are trained to find the edge,' he said. The walkways and highway are highlighted in contrasting coloured paving, but that is only effective for some partially sighted people and is not useful at night time,' added Mr Bladen. 'The solution would be to introduce "tram lines" at pavement edge, it could be done cheaply and without having to rip up the existing stones. 'Level pavement and highway is a bad idea, but the only solution here is compromise. We do not wish to inconvenience people by having to have the paving re-laid,' said Mr Bladen. Devon County Council's area highways engineer Brian George said that tactile paving would be introduced at the junction of George Street and Somerset Place to address some of Mr Bladen's concerns. But engineers will have a better understanding of the scheme when it is completed. 'From experience in other pedestrianised areas in Teignmouth and other towns, we find that initial fears are not borne out.
'We expect that traffic will not be so busy in that area and the layout will enable motorists to see pedestrians. 'We do need to see the scheme finished and then we can see if there are any major issues,' said Mr George. Similar schemes in the country and in Europe have been highlighted in a report by the guide dogs charity. It reveals that blind or partially sighted people are frightened to go into such areas and often avoid them in case of what might happen. Mr Gwernan-Jones, based at the charity's Exeter office said that he would be contacting Devon County Council's highways department with his concerns. He said: 'The clear delineation between the pavement and the highway has disappeared and our concern is that blind and visually impaired people will walk into a danger area without knowing that they have done so. 'Also the layout has changed so much, it is difficult for partially sighted people to negotiate. 'I think that we would be satisfied with tactile paving along the edge. 'We accept as an association that these schemes will happen anyway, but they do need to be tweaked to ensure that they are safe for visually impaired people.'