§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what research his Department is carrying out into tactile surfaces to warn the blind, and advise as to safe routes and information points; when the results of the research will be published and advice notes circulated to highway authorities; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what action he intends to take to ensure standardisation of tactile paving and similar initiatives across the country as a whole.
§ Mr. FreemanAdvice was issued to all local authorities by my Department in 1986 on the use of a specific tactile surface in conjunction with dropped kerbs at controlled crossings. Similar advice will shortly be issued to local authorities on the use of the same tactile surface at uncontrolled crossings and side streets.
My Department has also commissioned research into the usefulness of a range of other tactile surfaces to provide guidance and warning for blind and partially sighted pedestrians. Trials with those surfaces are currently under way and we will issue advice early in 1991 to local authorities on the appropriate use of each surface in the pedestrian environment.