Shared space is a new design concept for town centre and high street developments, often delivered by means of a shared surface street design. In most cases the design involves removing the kerb that has traditionally separated areas for vehicles and pedestrians creating a shared surface street.

The shared space concept aims to create attractive shared ‘social’ areas and to reduce the dominance of vehicles to make streets more ‘people-friendly’.

In shared surface street design of the road and its surroundings are altered to cause changes in the behaviour of drivers, encouraging them to be extra cautious as they negotiate the new road layout.

Pedestrians, motorists and cyclists need to make eye contact to establish who has priority. However this puts blind and partially sighted people at a serious disadvantage.

Blind and partially sighted people, particularly guide dog owners and long cane users are trained to use the kerb as a key navigation cue in the street environment. Its removal, without a proven effective, alternative feature, exposes blind and partially sighted people to greater risk, undermines their confidence, and so creates a barrier to their independent mobility. The kerb is also vital for children's safety when using roads. From an early age children are taught as part of the Green Cross Code to Stop, Look, and Listen at kerbs. If these kerbs are removed, how will children know where to stop?

Guide Dogs supports the aim of creating attractive ‘people-friendly’ street environments but opposes the use of shared surface streets to achieve this.  For background information on our previous campaigning work on the issue of shared surface streets, please read a copy of our Campaign report.

Campaign Report

Shared Surfaces Campaign Report (word) 55K

Shared Surfaces Campaign Report (pdf) 861K

Shared surface streets are not just an issue for blind and partially sighted people. Our concerns have been well-supported by a wide range of disability organisations who have concerns about the dangers of these street designs for other vulnerable road users.

Building on that support we invited these organisations to work with us in developing a joint statement urging both national and local Government to make sure that the pedestrian environment is inclusive and safe for all users. 

Supporting inclusive streetscapes statement (pdf) 1MB

Charities in support and link to external websites

List of charities supporting the campaign in alphabetical order

Action for Blind People http://www.actionforblindpeople.org.uk
Action Disability Kensington & Chelsea  http://www.adkc.org.uk/
Age Cymru http://www.agecymru.org.uk/  
Age Scotland http://www.ageconcernandhelptheagedscotland.org.uk
Arthritis Care http://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/Home
Association of Blind Asians http://www.aba-uk.org/
Association of Visually Impaired Office Staff 
Capability Scotland http://www.capability-scotland.org.uk/
Community http://www.community-tu.org/equality
Deafblind UK http://www.deafblind.org.uk/
Disability Alliance http://www.disabilityalliance.org/surface.htm
Disability Wales http://www.disabilitywales.org/  
Dog Aid http://www.dogaid.org.uk/
Dogs for the Disabled http://www.dogsforthedisabled.org/
IMTAC http://www.imtac.org.uk/
Inclusion London  http://www.inclusionlondon.co.uk/
Inclusion Scotland http://www.inclusionscotland.org/
Joint Committee for the Mobility of Disabled people http://www.jcmd.org.uk/  
Joint Committee for the Mobility of Blind and Partially Sighted people http://www.jcmbps.org.uk/
Kent Association for the Blind http://www.kab.org.uk/ 
Leonard Cheshire Disability http://www.lcdisability.org/
London Visual Impairment Forum     http://www.lvif.co.uk/
Mencap http://www.mencap.org.uk/
Mobilise http://www.mobilise.info/
NADS http://www.nads.org.uk
NALSVI http://www.nalsvi.cswebsites.org/
NFB http://www.nfbuk.org/
Radar - The Disability Network http://www.radar.org.uk/radarwebsite/
RNIB http://www.rnib.org.uk/
RNID http://www.rnid.org.uk/
Scope http://www.scope.org.uk/
Sense - for Deafblind People http://www.sense.org.uk/
SERTUC Regional Council  http://www.tuc.org.uk/sertuc
Tendring Community Transport http://www.dial-a-ride.org/
The Access Association http://www.access-association.org.uk/ 
The Council for the Disabled Children http://partner.ncb.org.uk/Page.asp?sve=785
The National Autistic Society http://www.nas.org.uk/
The National Blind Children's Society     http://www.nbcs.org.uk/
The National League for the Blind and Disabled http://www.community-tu.org/information/101434/nlbd/
The Omnibus Partnership Email:ts@omnibus0111.demon.co.uk
The Scottish Disability Equality Forum http://www.sdef.org.uk 
Transport for All http://www.transportforall.org.uk/
United Kingdom Disabled People's Council http://www.bcodp.org.uk/