A big step towards improving accessibility and safety for visually impaired individuals was taken on Tuesday in Cape Town with the unveiling of a new, specialised tactile signage in Grassy Park, Cape Town. The initiative aims to provide clearer guidance and enhance independent navigation for visually impaired residents in the city’s public spaces.

The ceremony held on Tuesday morning in Grassy Park saw city officials, disability advocates, community leaders, and visually impaired residents gather to mark the introduction of the new signage system that includes raised text, providing crucial information for both users and drivers to orient themselves with greater awareness both on and off the street.

“We are unveiling a pedestrian signage system that is all about mobility. We believe that anyone’s inability should never be an issue when it comes to mobility,” Western Cape Mobility Minister Isaac Sileku told IOL at this morning’s launch. He continued, emphasising that a person’s “disability should never be an inability.”

The Minister also expressed that the pedestrian signage is aimed at city drivers as well. Seeing it as a reminder for drivers to “slow down and be cognisant of the visually impaired when crossing the roads”.

Tsheko Tslou, a mobility instructor at the League of the Friends of the Blind, shared his optimism regarding this morning’s launch and the City’s new initiative.

Tslou said: “I hope that these new signs will bring the much-needed attention to our city’s road safety,” as the initiative aims to reduce pedestrian fatalities, given that the Western Cape has the highest incident rate of road fatalities.

IOL

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