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The peak body for walking in Greater Sydney
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Author: Regina Haertsch

Walking Sightless – an Experience

954 likes poppitheguidedog Warning this post is triggering and involves the near death or injury of Poppi and myself. I have been left feeling shaken, helpless and a like Poppi and I don't matter. Poppi was guiding me through the main street in our home city of Parramatta. We were on the foot path (or so we thought) when suddenly I heard heavy breaking and discovered Poppi and I were in the middle of the road. Poppi tried to get me off the road and we ended up in another road. Before this, we had also crossed a busy street with NO idea. How did this happen? Our state has introduced a new design of major cities with light rails running through them. They have created a "boulevard" look that makes everything from the tram lines, roads and surrounds look like one giant foot path. There is no difference between the road and foot path from looks, levels, materials. NOTHING. Why did they do this? It looks pretty and gives a sense pedestrians can walk for miles. Poppi who is a great guide dog no longer has any clue where the footpath ends and a road begins and nor do I. The state designers say this is ok beause they have put down dots that are meant to tell me there is a hazzard. Now I have to find the dots, then guess what they mean. To be honest I'm not very good at ths game. I also have a wide walking gait and can easily walk straight over them. I can also barely feel them and well.... Suprise but I CAN'T SEE THEM. I feel so sad that I literally can not go into my main city independantly. Worse still, they love this design and don't want to change so I won't be able to go to many major cities anymore. Sydney CBD included. I've never felt more disabled. This is a picture of Poppi looking really sad and confused as industry professionals (blindness, council and project leads) try to test if Poppi and I can recognise the new dots to tell us there is a road. We failed. (Or perhaps, the designers failed.) #GuideDog #GuidedogsAustralia #Dog #Labrador #Parramatta #ParramattaLlghtRail #Disability #Death #Cruelty #TransportNSW #PawGust2022 view all 88 comments
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This a repost from Instagram with permissionpoppitheguidedog 954 likespoppitheguidedog Warning this post is triggering and involves the near […]

Regina Haertsch August 1, 2022 Disability, Dogs, Parramatta, Shared Space, Sydney

UK Highway Code Commences

New Hierarchy of Road Users
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On 29 January 2022 changes to The UK Highway Code came into effect. The Highway Code is the […]

Regina Haertsch February 14, 2022 Road Rules, Sydney

Secrets of Successful High Streets

Glebe Point Road
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Committee for Sydney has mapped 120 of Sydney’s high streets On analysis it was found that these attributes […]

Regina Haertsch December 4, 2021 Sydney

Big four Dutch cities want lower speed limits to cut road deaths

amsterdam architecture bikes buildings
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DutchNews.nl has reported the following on 1 December 2021: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht have written to […]

Regina Haertsch December 2, 2021 Sydney

Crosswalks are pedestrian crossings and some need zebra crossings

Equus zebra hartmannae - Etosha 2015.jpg Hartmann's mountain zebra in Etosha National Park. Yathin S Krishnappa Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
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When a road crossing is an extension of a footpath our road rules sometimes give right of way […]

Regina Haertsch November 23, 2021 Sydney

Road Safety Joint Select Committee

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The Joint Select Committee on Road Safety, the second of the 46th Parliament, was established by a resolution […]

Regina Haertsch October 26, 2021 Submissions, Sydney

Sydney Park Junction

Sydney Park Road improvements
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Transport for NSW proposes to reduce traffic lanes, create new walking links, cycleways and dynamic community spaces, WalkSydney […]

Regina Haertsch October 2, 2021 Alexandria, parks, St. Peters, Sydney, traffic calming

Need to return road space for walking and cycling – Bridge Rd Glebe

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Bridge Road Glebe changes from single lane to two lanes for a short distance along the Blackwattle Bay […]

Regina Haertsch September 23, 2021 Cycling, Glebe, Sydney

Willoughby Council consults on crossings for school kids

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Willoughby Council consults on crossings for school kids. Willoughby Council wants to inform residents about a program to construct 13 raised pedestrian crossings (also known as wombat crossings) to improve safety of school children in the local area.

Regina Haertsch May 26, 2021 Sydney

Giving Way where there are no signs or lights

Sometimes road design helps cars decide to whom they must give way. But is this actually a marked crosswalk?
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On 21 December 2019 WalkSydney posted Why Australian Road Rules need to be rewritten to put walking first. […]

Regina Haertsch March 29, 2021 Sydney

National Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030

Pedestrian in a crosswalk
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Every ten years federal, state and territory governments agree on a set of priorities to reduce road user […]

Regina Haertsch March 23, 2021 Sydney

When will your Council set a 30 km/h limit in your neighbourhood?

Children on pedestrian island
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Today WalkSydney and 30please.org wrote to 33 local governments in Greater Sydney asking when they would introduce a […]

Regina Haertsch February 3, 2021 Sydney

Rambling on a Sunday

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As it was hot last Sunday, family and friends chose another hike around water; this time it included […]

Regina Haertsch September 4, 2020 Sydney, Walks

Sunday Ambling

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Walking is entertaining when you go and do it. Sundays, freedays, are perfect for family and friends to […]

Regina Haertsch August 28, 2020 Sydney, Walks

Pedestrians win – UK Highway Code review

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This week the UK Department for Transport launched a limited review of the Highway Code and the biggest […]

Regina Haertsch July 30, 2020 Road Rules, Sydney

Planning or a mirage

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In mid-May, City of Sydney council announced six new pop-up bike routes which are shown in orange above. […]

Regina Haertsch June 17, 2020 Sydney

Make room for social distancing – some car-free streets sometimes please

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Narrow footpaths are inadequate for maintaining safe social distancing. You may also have noticed that many public spaces […]

Regina Haertsch April 3, 2020 Footpaths and Sidewalks, Sydney

NE Central Station exits and Elizabeth Street

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The north east entrance/exits at Central Station place a pedestrian on that corner adjacent to all kind of […]

Regina Haertsch December 9, 2019 Light Rail, Sydney, Trains

Membership Open

Festive Feet
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If you would like to join WalkSydney please email the Secretary (regina.haertsch@gmail.com) to obtain an application. The cost […]

Regina Haertsch July 4, 2019 Sydney

Pedestrian crossing

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Do you think that there is something wrong with this picture? For me, a potential collision is imminent. […]

Regina Haertsch March 11, 2019 Crosswalks, Safety, Sydney, Walks

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