The four new mobility scooter bays are designed with high visibility fencing for each bay and will be clearly marked as parking for this purpose. Council’s Access and Inclusion Officer, Louise Dwyer, says the bays are the first of their kind in Victoria and possibly Australia.
“The area around the Community Health facility often has several scooters parked at once against the building which is not only a hazard for pedestrians but doesn’t allow the owners to park securely and safely get on and off their scooters,” said Ms Dwyer.
“The new bays were designed in consultation with GV Health staff and Council’s Disability Advisory Committee (DAC) and this is an exciting solution which we believe has not been done before.”
“Our engineers have come up with something which improves accessibility for patrons of GV Health’s Community Health service and provides a solution to a common problem,” she said.
From Monday 16 to Monday 23 March the footpath and guttering north of the main entrance will be removed to make way for a new drainage system, two accessible parking bays and a new concrete footpath. The public will be able to access to the main entrance from the south side of the building.
From Tuesday 24 March to Thursday 27 March the main public entrance will be closed to the public whilst the existing bitumen and concrete path are removed and replaced with a new concrete footpath and four parking bays for mobility scooters. Clients accessing the facility for services will be required to enter via the Edward Street staff entrance and will be guided by volunteers.
Greater Shepparton City Council Director Infrastructure, Steve Bowmaker said there will be traffic management in place during the works and staff and patrons of the facility are advised there may be some noise and minor inconvenience as a result.
“Council has scheduled the works to minimise impact to the main public entrance however patrons of the service are reminded to take note of signage around the main entrance and follow instructions of Community Health volunteers or the site supervisor,” said Mr Bowmaker. “The only delay to works would occur because of inclement weather.”
