THE fall suffered by 74-year-old Anne Heenan – who broke her nose after slipping in Grimsby town centre – will happen again, according to the man behind a petition urging the council to make the shared spaces more visible for pedestrians.
Barry Fisher, 65, of Abbey Drive East, Grimsby, launched the petition after falling on the kerb in George Street last month.
As previously reported, he blamed the lack of visible distinction between the path and the road in the newly block-paved area for losing his footing.
Although he suffered only minor scrapes and bruises, he warned that more serious accidents would occur in future if the council did not take action.
Commenting on the fall suffered by Anne Heenan, of Westfield Road, Waltham, Mr Fisher said: "I am very sorry to hear that the lady has broken her nose and I wish her a speedy recovery.
"But I am not surprised and I think it will happen again.
"My concern has always been that if a person of that age breaks their hip, which is just as likely, they would go into hospital and probably not come out again."
The retired construction worker wrote a letter to North East Lincolnshire Council expressing his concerns, but was disappointed by the response which stated that the new kerb was "proving satisfactory overall" for most people.
Project engineer Steve Nurse told him that the design of the shared space area was arrived upon after the review of all available guidance on the subject, including that from the Department for Transport, University College London (UCL) and Shared Space expert Ben Hamilton-Baillie, and that a Road Safety Audit had been carried out on the final design.
He explained that the low slope kerb was identified as the "most suitable and successful compromise" for the physically disabled – who prefer no kerb – and the visually impaired – who prefer a physical kerb. He added: "It would appear that as a result of this compromise solution that some users are having difficulty identifying the kerb however it would appear the arrangement is proving satisfactory overall for the vast number of people who use this area.
"Based on the above guidance we are satisfied that the 40mm high splayed kerb which is markedly lighter than the surrounding paving provides a suitable edge detail."
But Mr Fisher said: "Somebody is going to get seriously hurt and I don't want that on my conscience. I know how much it hurt me and I was lucky. It is a trip hazard and they should do something about it.
"As a minimum they should put up temporary barriers until they at least assess the situation."
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