Councillor on the right path

Bunbury city councillor Wendy Giles had to hobble around on crutches after her foot surgery in October.

But being forced to use crutches opened her eyes to the standard of footpaths in Bunbury.

For about a month she got a first-hand perspective of cracked and uneven footpaths and found there were some routes that weren't even accessible by foot.

Speaking to the _Bunbury Herald _after her "moon boot" was removed, Cr Giles said the experience had made her concerned for people who had problems walking around Bunbury.

"It certainly made me appreciate some of the routes people walking have to take to get to places safely," she said.

Cr Giles said most of the footpaths were good in the CBD but they needed work in outlying areas.

She also said there needed to be more taxi ranks in the CBD to help people who found it hard to walk around.

The issue of accessibility is being tackled by the council's community access committee.

Led by Deputy Mayor Brendan Kelly, the committee's goal is to make Bunbury the most accessible regional city by 2020.

He has previously said that his ambition was for Bunbury to be "universally accessible" and the committee is preparing a plan to upgrade the city paths, ramps and open space to achieve this goal.

The ambition doesn't just cover those with trouble walking. It also includes people in wheelchairs, parents pushing a pram or someone who has suffered an injury.

The access committee recently met with the Transforming Bunbury's Waterfront committee in a bid to make sure public areas of the redeveloped Koombana Beach are accessible.