The video shows a registered disabled person and a cyclist trying to access with difficulty a public park in the London Borough of Lewisham, following the recent installation of yet another barrier.
For some time now many London Local Councils have been erecting barriers all over their boroughs. These include kissing gates, narrow slots for cycles, and miles of guard railings on pavements. These act to discourage people with walking difficulties and cyclists from moving freely around the Borough. Councils seem totally deaf to complaints, both from the general public and campaign groups, so these unsightly and obstructive barriers continue to proliferate.
Sustrans (Sustainable Transport)
http://www.sustrans.org.uk/ say:
"Anything more obstructive than bollards is inconvenient to ordinary cyclists and may be totally impassable for those with trailers for shopping or children, tandems, especially if loaded, recumbents and any other non-conventional bike. Access controls frequently inhibit the use of a path by many disabled people especially those using any form of wheeled vehicle apart from a conventional pushed wheelchair. Indeed, in the words of one path manager,
‘Access controls stop the very people we want to use paths the most’."
The Pedestrians' Association http://www.livingstreets.org.uk/ also say:
"Guard-railing spoils the look of many of our streets, as well as making it more difficult to cross the road."
Sustrans (Sustainable Transport)
http://www.sustrans.org.uk/ say: "Anything more obstructive than bollards is inconvenient to ordinary cyclists and may be totally impassable for those with trailers for shopping or children, tandems, especially if loaded, recumbents and any other non-conventional bike. Access controls frequently inhibit the use of a path by many disabled people especially those using any form of wheeled vehicle apart from a conventional pushed wheelchair. Indeed, in the words of one path manager,
‘Access controls stop the very people we want to use paths the most’."
The Pedestrians' Association
http://www.livingstreets.org.uk/ also say: "Guard-railing spoils the look of many of our streets, as well as making it more difficult to cross the road."
