York is a great city to live in and for people to visit. However, many often ask about public toilets and somewhere to sit down for a short rest. In addition, the condition of the footpaths is critical as they may cause falls and serious injuries, especially for older people.
A lot of practical ideas have been generated on how to make an impact and improve the facilities. Support from local businesses to allow people access to seats and toilet use is a simple step forward – not everybody can afford to go into an expensive coffee shop in order to use the toilet.
Another initiative is the introduction of the ‘Chatty Bench’. These are now in cities all over the world and encourage people to sit and chat with a total stranger without feeling embarrassed or uncertain. In York, during the pandemic this has been a challenge to ensure safe spaces between chatters but some people have met up and shared experiences in a socially distanced way. This can be a big benefit in combatting loneliness.
Investment in infrastructure is crucial and big improvements have been made to the city centre, with the quality of the pavements and streets greatly improved and better reporting options for broken or loose pavement slabs.
Despite the pandemic, York Citizen meetings via Zoom have allowed people to keep reviewing progress. Simple progress reports have ensured that people know about the actions being taken to improve the infrastructure.
