WHAKATĀNE Accessible and Inclusive (WAI) is recruiting new members and volunteers to help make Whakatāne a safe town for everyone.

Committee chair Scotty Saunders is passionate about accessibility for people with disabilities and the elderly in the Whakatāne area.

“We are in this waka together; we want to be the voice for people who don’t have one,” he said.

“We are looking for people with life skills who think they can make a difference and help make a difference to our community and New Zealand.”

The group is volunteer based, so members can put in as much energy as they want to.

Others on the committee are Grant Chase, Kay McLeod, Cindy Eichler, Kylie Carpenter and Ruth Gerzon.

Once a month, typically the last Friday of the month, members gather to discuss any accessibility issues, barriers and roadblocks they have noticed.

The group bands together to provide perspectives of people with disabilities to the community and council, particularly for upcoming projects and raising awareness of any lack of foresight in previous projects.

A recent focus has been the red pedestrian crossings around Whakatāne and Ōhope, where the driver has right of way and the safety of the crossing largely relies on a pedestrian making eye contact with the driver of a vehicle.

“The NZTA guidelines state these types of crossings are appropriate for areas in 30kmh zones. Some of these crossings are in 50kmh zones, and one in Ōhope is on the corner of a 60kmh zone,” Mr Saunders said.

“These are so dangerous and there have been many close calls.

“We are waiting, hoping and praying for change before someone gets killed.

“In Ōhope, we want every person to be able to come to the beach, to cross the road. A lot of elderly cannot, it’s not safe,” he said.

They discuss the dangers of how quiet electric cars can be, and for those who rely on hearing to cross the road if there is a lawnmower, drone or airplane in the vicinity, they may not hear the cars.

Another goal of the group is to increase the number of disability parking spaces in town.

“Up to 29 percent of the population is impaired,” Mr Saunders said.

WAI signed a memorandum of understanding with the Whakatāne District Council earlier this year, under which the council committed to consult WAI when undertaking relevant projects.

It consults with the Disability Resource Centre, but also wants WAI’s perspective and lived experience and knowledge.

“Since signing the MOU, we have already seen an increase in advice sought by the council, and it looks promising for a strong relationship going forward,” Mr Saunders said.

They work closely with People First Whakatāne, with members Bernadette Moses and Rainus Baker representing the group within WAI.

The committee also advocates for an inclusive emergency tsunami plan.

A successful planning session was held with Civil Defence and the Coastguard last year, and an upcoming meeting is planned this year, with the intention of holding annual updates.

The monthly meetings are also a good chance to catch up over a cup of tea with people with similar concerns.

Anyone interested in joining WAI or finding out more information can email [email protected].