Richard Rieser, who is head of World of Inclusion and founder of Disability History Month

A CAMPAIGNER says the pavements aren’t safe for people with disabilities.

Richard Rieser, head of World of Inclusion and founder of Disability History Month, conducted his own survey of the council’s proposed Mildmay Liveable Neighbourhood – part of the council’s endeavours to focus less on cars, and more on pedestrians.

Mr Rieser says he found pavements that are narrow, cracked and uneven, with tree roots preventing wheelchairs from passing, and a lack of pelican crossings.

“If there’s no sound on the crossing to indicate you can cross, then you’re really stuck. You have to wait for someone to come along and help you cross, otherwise it’s too dangerous to just launch across the road.

“For people who are ambulant impaired, or wheelchair users, I found three places where the obstacles would actually just turn the wheelchair over. On King Henry Walk Bridge, which was redone in the past year, there is such a steep gradient there that your wheelchair just slides into the road in front of oncoming traffic,” said Mr Rieser.

“The state of the pavements is a big issue. It doesn’t take much for someone to fall over and break their wrist, particularly if your vision is going slightly and you’re shuffling along – you expect this pavement to be even and if there’s suddenly something sticking out, you’ll be over and hurt yourself.”

He added: “The real issue is making the environment so everybody can use it, and that’s not what’s being addressed. The pavements in most places aren’t being looked at and I would urge people in other areas of Islington to push back on the council and say, ‘Look, it’s not just filtering cars, it’s about the whole neighbourhood. And if it’s not usable by everybody who lives there, then it’s not fit for purpose,” said the Mildmay resident.

Mr Rieser is calling on the council to make accessibility a top priority: “If I hadn’t done this, nobody would have. It shouldn’t take a concerned citizen to do this.”

Environment lead councillor Rowena Champion, said: “We’re committed to doing all we can to make sure everyone benefits from the changes we’re making, and to make our pavements more accessible. This includes repaving, new dropped kerbs, making it easier to cross roads, new tactile paving, less street clutter and foliage maintenance.

“We’re grateful to Richard Rieser for the work that he has done to review pavements in the area of the planned Mildmay Liveable Neighbourhood, and the feedback from him and other local people about how we can improve local pavements.”