Hannah’s Blog – Make Way Day 2023

Make Way Day is an annual event aimed at raising awareness about some of the issues people with disabilities observe when out and about in public spaces.

This campaign occurs every year in September. This year Make Way Day took place on Friday 22nd September 2023, aiming to shine a light on how simple actions can interfere with a person’s ability to access the outdoor environment to the best extent possible.

Examples can include cars and vans parked on footpaths, which can often mean that a person who uses a wheelchair may not be able to get on certain footpaths, or a person who has difficulty with their sight may be at risk of danger if they are unable to recognise that a certain part of a footpath may have a car parked on it.

Other examples can include rubbish bins and sandwich boards placed unnecessarily on footpaths, cars parked too close behind wheelchair accessible spaces, meaning that a person who has to reverse their wheelchair out from the back of the boot does not have enough room to place the wheelchair ramp in order to reverse safely and easily. This is one of the most common issues for me personally. Cars or vans parked illegally in wheelchair parking spots is also quite a significant issue.

I hope you found my article about accessibility issues informative, always remember to make way for people with disabilities!

Make Way Day takes place each year in September. For more information visit www.makewayday.com