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ABOUT
MEGOBAPP
MANCHESTER ENVIRONMENTAL
GROUP OF To all interested visually-impaired people. Dear Friends, I am Ron Goulden, the Chairperson of Manchester Environmental Group of Blind & Partially-sighted People (MEGOBAPP). This Group started to function in July 2002. Its Aims are for the Group to improve mobility, service provision and access to information for blind and partially-sighted people within the area controlled by Manchester City Council and, where appropriate, outside that area.
Amongst the Objectives in pursuance of the aims are:-
It has visited Piccadilly Railway Station on a couple of occasions and produced reports on those visits which have been passed to the Piccadilly Railway Station Customer Services and the Director General of the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE). These reports highlighted the problems faced by visually-impaired people in locating platforms, finding their way around the complex, avoiding the various obstructions, the lack of highlighting by the use of contrasting colour patterns not only on the obstructions but the expansive glazed areas. Suggestions were made in an attempt to overcome some if not all the identified problems likely to confront visually-impaired people. One of the recommendations that figured highly in the reports was the use of audible signs to provide directional and general information. The Group paid a visit to Leeds to see the kind of provision they had for visually-impaired people. We found that there were four points in the City Railway Station where audible information is provided when a person carrying an “activating” fob came within eight metres of a unit. Apart from the four in the City Station complex thee were in excess of fifty in the City area. A short report was prepared on this visit, a copy of which was passed to the GMPTE. In addition, a report was produced on the Metrolink extensions, drawing attention to features that should either be incorporated or avoided. This was passed to the GMPTE as well as other organisations of disabled people and the Manchester City Council. It is interesting to see that some of the recommendations incorporated in this report are now being effected on the existing system, i.e. eliminating the raised section on platforms to provide a uniform level access at all entrances to the vehicle. During the year, too, MEGOBAPP has been undertaking a project to ascertain the character font that visually-impaired people prefer for their large print, as well as its size. A report on this process has now been produced and is in course of circulation. The exercise was somewhat limited; MEGOBAPP would like to undertake a more extensive project on this if funds could be obtained.
We will continue to identify areas that create difficulties to visually-impaired people within Manchester on the highways, in and around buildings and in the provision of information. As a small Group we are likely to experience some difficulties in identifying all these areas. We therefore need an increased active membership. We need members, too, with additional impairments to a sight loss as well as visually-impaired members from the ethnic Community. MEGOBAPP is also looking to lay the foundations of a network of groups of visually-impaired people. We are currently making contact with some five groups at the moment to ascertain their likely interest. MEGOBAPP meets on a monthly basis, generally on the second Friday of each month from 5-30 until 8 p.m. All travelling expenses incurred in attending are reimbursed. If you are a visually-impaired person and are interested in becoming involved, why not get in touch. You can contact me, Ron Goulden, by telephone or fax on: 0161-798-9137 (an answerphone operates when not available), by E-mail r-goulden@supanet.com, or write to me in Braille, print or on tape at the address shown at the top of this letter. Yours in high
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