数日前のお昼頃、混雑する小田急改札口でのこと。スマホを見ていた外国人に英語で声を掛けられました。鎌倉に行く改札口はどこかと聞かれて教えました。私は用事を済ませて再び小田急線ホームに入りました。工事で以前よりも狭くなっているホームは長蛇の列。私は杖と買い物袋も持っていたので、人との間は通れない為、行き先車両前方に向かって黄色の点字ブロックの上を歩きました。その時に思いました。視覚障害のある白杖者はいつか思わぬ事故で転落も、と。最近JRから降りてくる新しい階段が新設されたましたが、一階の小田急線ホームでは、私も含め階段を使いづらい足の悪い人や、目の悪い人にとって、より不便で危険な動線ができたのではないかと感じました。今後は地元住民がより安全で幸せになれるような建設過程を熟慮してほしいと思います。（美智子）

A few days ago, around lunchtime, I was at a crowded Odakyu Line ticket gate. A foreigner who was looking at her smartphone called out to me in English. She asked me where the ticket gate for Kamakura was, and I taught her. After finishing my errands, I went back to the Odakyu Line platform. The platform was narrower than before due to construction work, and there was a long line. I was carrying a cane and shopping bags, so I couldn’t squeeze between people, so I walked on the yellow tactile paving toward the front of my destination train. It occurred to me: visually impaired people using white canes might one day fall in an unexpected accident. Recently, new stairs were installed to get off the JR line, but I felt that the Odakyu Line platform on the first floor had created an even more inconvenient and dangerous route for people with mobility issues and poor eyesight, including myself, who have difficulty using stairs. I hope that in the future, the construction process will be carefully considered to make local residents safer and happier. (Michiko)

ナコス湘南