Have you ever thought how lucky you are if you can read this article without the aid of glasses?

For many people there is no remedy available to correct their sight, and sight loss can affect a person’s independence more than any other disability (many who lose their sight never go out unaccompanied again).

Guide dogs are trained to help their owner avoid hazards, particularly when crossing a road.

But what are the planners doing now? Taking away all barriers such as kerbs in the latest drive towards “shared spaces”. A guide dog has been trained to wait at the kerb, but where is the indicator now?

We are told that, in these shared spaces, we must make eye contact with a car driver to indicate that we want to cross a road.

How do you do that if your vision is distorted or poor? Oxfordshire Unlimited has protested long and loud about this.

One of our latest efforts is running a course called “Mission Impossible” where we invite staff from the county council highways team to try to access the city centre using various walking aids or glasses that distort their vision.

The result is expressed astonishment at how difficult and frightening it was trying to cross at the zebra crossing outside County Hall.

Disability groups campaigned heavily about this but, in the end, the planners won and removed the safe audible crossing.

There are many other hazards that, with a little thought could be removed.

The latest habit of parking cars on the pavement is one. Blind people will not only walk into them but then have to walk into the road to get past.

The government has given councils the power to fine people for parking on the pavement unless it is in a designated area.

Our council seems particularly slow in adopting this, and even the police seem to view this as unimportant.

What does it mean to you? Cash to the tune of £1bn throughout the country and running into thousands in Oxfordshire.

This immense cost is for repairing pavements damaged by vehicle parking and the cost to the NHS due to falls caused by damaged pavements.

How about A Boards? It is like a slalom course going round the city centre.

They creep out further onto the pavement almost every week. Again where is the council? A Boards are not a legal way of using pavement space so why aren’t our elected members helping us?

Oxfordshire Unlimited will not rest until blind and partially sighted people can enjoy the same freedom as everyone else.