That may be about to change, now that a prototype ramp has been installed outside the Ministry of Social Development, in Bond St.
Disability Information Service access adviser and educator John Marrable said he has had so many close calls crossing streets in his trusty wheelchair over the years, but he was filled with an overwhelming sense of relief yesterday, when he saw the new access ramp.
He said many Dunedin street corners had steep drop-kerbs or no drop-kerbs at all, which made many places inaccessible for people using wheelchairs.
In some places, plastic ramps had been installed in an attempt to make access possible, but Mr Marrable said many of them were dangerous.
"There’s been quite a few instances where, over time, the plastic has started to perish, and there’s been instances where people in wheelchairs have used them and they’ve just collapsed and it’s tipped them out.
"There’s one woman that I know, in Auckland, who broke her hip in such an incident."
The new ramp outside the MSD offices was designed and built by Dunedin inventor and engineer Larry Burns, and was receiving praise from wheelchair users like Mr Marrable.
"Larry’s ramp is metal and spring-loaded, so that if a car runs over it, it will keep its shape.
"He’s also got little safety flaps on each side, so if a wheelchair does happen to go off the side, they’re not going to tip.
"It’s taken the danger out of crossing the road for people in wheelchairs."
He hoped ramps like the prototype would start appearing at other dangerous sites around Dunedin in the coming year.
"There’s definitely quite a few places around the city that could do with these ramps."
Dunedin City Council transport engineer Ian Martin said the new ramps would be trialled at three other sites in the central city and the DCC was asking for feedback from users on how well they worked.
If the ramps worked and "everybody is happy with them", it was likely they would be used more widely, he said.
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Excellent! Thanks to DCC for getting a round tuit, and congratulations to inventor and engineer Larry Burns for designing such a smart practical solution to a common danger. Wheelchair users were overlooked too long while other non-car wheel-users (bikes, skate boards, scooters) got all the attention.