Readers back calls to remove A-boards
READERS have come forward to back a blind woman's calls for shopkeepers to remove their advertising boards from Stamford town centre.
Kathleen Windsor, 76, contacted the Mercury last week after becoming frustrated with the amount of A-boards cluttering the High Street and Ironmonger Street, which she said made it terrifying to walk there.
After her plight was highlighted, readers came forward to back her calls for shopkeepers to be more considerate and remove their boards from the streets.
Martin Grimes, of Kings Road, Stamford, became so frustrated with the amount of A-boards in the town that he and his neighbour Nick Amies conducted a survey in the autumn.
Mr Grimes said: "I feel the boards are obstructing the paths to a great extent and they make the place look untidy.
"When we did our survey we found there were over 100 in the town and it has increased since then.
"We presented it to Stamford Town Council, South Kesteven District Council and Lincolnshire County Council, and were told Stamford Town Council couldn't take action and the district council and county council weren't prepared to take action."
Lincolnshire County Council's highways department provided Mr Grimes with a leaflet it sends to businesses, which warns of a maximum fine of 1,000 for obstructing the highway and a further 2,500 fine for placing unauthorised signs on the highway.
The department was unavailable to comment on the leaflet.
Tom Riley, who is in charge of putting together the Talking Newspaper for the blind, said he had encountered others who had faced similar problems to Mrs Windsor.
Mr Riley, of New Street, Stamford, said: "I sympathise with Kath because I think A-boards look messy. It's a common complaint.
"Once blind or visually impaired people know a street, they can walk along without any problems, but if an A-board appears and it wasn't there before, they can bang into it and cause injury.
"I think shop owners ought to think more about that before they put their A-boards out."
Mrs Windsor, who lives in Browne's Hospital, Stamford, was unavailable to comment.
Last week, Lincolnshire County Council said it was difficult to take action against businesses while South Kesteven District Council said it was working with the town council and Stamford Chamber of Trade to find a solution.
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Weather for Stamford
Saturday 26 May 2012
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