§ Mr. ConwayTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what advice his Department offers to local authorities seeking to build pedestrian footbridges with transport supplementary grant from his Department with regard to access for the disabled.
§ Mr. AtkinsWe recommend that for schemes supported by TSG local highway authorities should use the technical design standards issued by the Department. The Department's design criteria for footbridges are contained in departmental standard BD29/87. This standard lays particular emphasis on the importance of ensuring that the needs of disabled people are taken into account. It specifies "enhanced criteria" which should be adopted as far as practicable for the benefit of disabled people, such as the provision of both ramps and stairs and a minimum clear width of 2m.
I am arranging for a copy of the standard to be placed in the Library.