PUT yourself behind the controls of a mobility scooter and you immediately get a different perspective on going to the shops.
Nancy Joyce 83 of Korumburra is a relative newcomer to riding a scooter and it’s only been since her partner of 64 years, Ron, passed away five months ago, that she’s taken an interest in the obstacles and hazards that are an everyday reality for scooter users.
Crossing the road safely is one thing, dogs on the loose can be another and there’s also boggy or
overgrown nature strips to navigate.
But the thing that really gets Nancy’s goat are the hedges, bushes and plants (including Agapanthus) that expand out over the footpath from domestic gardens blocking the way for pedestrians and scooter users – cut them back people!
“The footpath on Jumbunna Road is nice and wide but it’s where the paths are narrower, on the way to the shops, that you have the problem,” said Nancy this week.
“I go up to the town most days to get the paper and there’s places where the hedges, bushes and even blackberries are creeping out blocking the way. You can sometimes go out on to the grass, but you feel like you might tip over or get bogged. It’s not ideal.”
Mrs Joyce has made an appeal to Korumburra homeowners and the shire to clear vegetation away from footpaths to make it easier (and safer) for scooter users but it’s a plea that other towns and councils could heed as well.
