Council was asked if it was not fulfilling its duty of equality because “unsafe” parking spaces leave much of the waterfront inaccessible to wheelchair users.
When the new ‘temporary’ seaside cycle path was created last summer, disability activists from Brighton Access for Disabled Groups Everywhere (BADGE) were horrified to see the disabled parking spaces near the statue of peace be offset from the sidewalk, with the cycle path between cars and the sidewalk.
BADGE activist Pippa Hodge told members of the Brighton and Hove City Council Environment, Transport and Sustainability Committee that CCTV of the seven bays of the A259 showed a wheelchair user being forced to move on the bike path to access your vehicle, swerving. bikes.
She said five safer bays were promised on the north side of the road in March, but since then nothing has happened.
She said: “As part of your active travel program, ‘our’ waterfront remains inaccessible for a second summer.
“Do advisers find it acceptable that 10 months later the officers still haven’t addressed these serious concerns?” ”
She asked if the council had violated its own “equality impact assessment” to protect access and safety for people with disabilities.
The risks were identified 10 months ago, she told the committee, and advisers had not acted on BADGE’s comments.
Green Councilor Amy Heley, who chairs the committee, said there had been no change in the number of disabled bays as a result of the new bike path.
She said some of the disabled bays were offset from the sidewalk with extra space on either side for safety reasons.
Councilor Heley said: “We recognize that while this recognizes the design standard, people should always be careful around vehicles or when passengers exit vehicles due to location.
“We recognize why it’s still dangerous for some users. We are currently exploring additional parking spaces along the waterfront to further improve access. ”
Residents and businesses in the area should be consulted before adding additional bays, which Councilor Heley said would take time.
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Source: www.theargus.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-07-12 04:41:00
