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Not enough Drop curbs is problem with my disability

buddie2411

Is there people finding the pavements in Coventry a problem with not enough drop curbs on my scooter cars and vans parked on the pavements so I have to go on the road so dangerous

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littleacorn

I dont live in coventry but in the north east and it is the same here. It makes my blood boil.

Tori_Scope

Welcome to the community @buddie2411

I'm sorry that you've been having problems navigating the pavements. Have you spoken to your MP or local councillors about the problem?

I'm going to tag in @Richard_Scope too.

littleacorn

If I started to tell my local councillor/MP everything that was wrong with the local community as far as disabled people are concerned I would be there until after Christmas. I just wish it was a law that if anyone digs up a pavement when they relay it a drop kerb had to be put in. That would help anyway.

Richard_Scope

Hi @buddie2411
I find that people parking across the dropped kerbs is a problem here in Coventry, especially if you use a mobility scooter or power and can't easily get up a standard kerb.
Coventry City Council is going to review the rules around dropped kerbs in the city. On the webpage, you will see the name of a councillor you can contact and how to raise issues about street furniture.

littleacorn

It is an idea but I dont think it is good timing for me. I will keep in mind though. Maybe a new years resolution!

janer1967

I think this is an issue in most places but I find mainly its people parking over dropped kerbs or also parking halfway on the pavement and the road meaning a wheelchair or even a pram cant get past then you have to go back to find a drop kerb so you can get on the road to pass the parked car putting yourself in danger.

There is a disabled parking area in my town centre where there are no drop kerbs at the end of the parking bays so you have to go onto the road until you come to the crossing , whoever planned this obviously doesnt use a wheelchair

littleacorn

What annoys me is when they have went to the trouble of putting in a dropped kerb but it is still not flush or there is a dropped kerb on one side of the road and none on the other. So senseless.

OverlyAnxious

Dropped kerbs alone aren't designed to be crossings. They're for cars to cross the pavement to reach a property (the only time it's legal to drive on a pavement).

It sounds like you're after more specific crossings but they take a lot more planning to ensure it's at a safe point for the person crossing, with good visibility for both driver and pedestrian, and that also won't interrupt traffic flow. On busier roads they obviously have to put in zebra, toucan or pelican crossings to ensure that cars will stop.

As for people parking half on a pavement, it winds me up no end both on foot and as a driver...presumably they feel it's better than parking fully on the road, but it just ends up restricting both the road and the pavement causing twice as much inconvenience! Sadly it's a necessity in some modern estates though, they've been built too tight despite knowing exactly how many private cars each home is likely to own now.

littleacorn

Last week I used a crossing with a central island. Dropped kerb off pavement, dropped kerb to access the island in the middle of the road, dropped kerb to get off the island but no dropped kerb to get on pavement at the other side. What also annoys me is you get onto the pavement via a dropped kerb along the pavement for quite some distance then no dropped kerb to get off. So off you go back along the pavement to get off and then along the road which is unsafe to get to where you need to be.

deb74

My Mom uses a mobility scooter and lives on a main road. The nearest dropped curb to her house is 100 yards away and as it is a main road she can't really go on the road.

soconfused

Round where I live in Newport the pavements are really bad and I get thrown about everywhere. Dropped curbs are missing on some streets and parked over in others - as I type this someone has blocked my drive so bad I couldn't get out on my scooter even if I had to. I've had to ask the Police to warn them. But it happens so often it's unreal.

soconfused

littleacorn said:

Last week I used a crossing with a central island. Dropped kerb off pavement, dropped kerb to access the island in the middle of the road, dropped kerb to get off the island but no dropped kerb to get on pavement at the other side. What also annoys me is you get onto the pavement via a dropped kerb along the pavement for quite some distance then no dropped kerb to get off. So off you go back along the pavement to get off and then along the road which is unsafe to get to where you need to be.

I find I can get down most pavement drops without issue - but up to a certain height. I have a TGA Vita Midi which is not the fastest and has bad suspension but takes the knocks well.

littleacorn

TGA vita midi is a scooter and I use a power chair. Powerchairs are obviously not as robust as a scooter but no good for me.

buddie2411

I understand where you are coming from but as I stated on here before to many cars and vans etc parked on the pavements so making it so unsafe for us as you have got to go on the road no choice if you want to get back on the pavement to try and find a drop curb
as you say drop curbs are an issue not enough of them so why don’t the government try to stop people parking on the pavements or if the do give us more place on the pavements

Tori_Scope

The Department for Transport ran a consultation survey recently on pavement parking @buddie2411, so hopefully that will influence future policy to make pavements more accessible for all.

KitCAT69

My husband has been in a wheelchair for about a year and I think I was probably naive about the rights of wheelchair users. I expected it to be a right for him to leave our house in his wheelchair and go into town safely. Apparently not. Our house is a gable end and the road and pavement runs up the end of our house. However, there are no dropped kerbs on that pavement or any others near our house. We have a ramp onto the road for his scooter and he is using that for his wheelchair but, as it goes straight onto a road it is dangerous (not that it is a busy road). We were told to contact our county council but they said they had no money until this year's financial year. We contacted them again and they misunderstood thinking we want to lower the pavement for a vehicle to get onto our property. We were told to contact our borough council, who then told us to get in touch with social services. Social Services say we need to talk to the Highways Department of the county council, so we are going round in circles. Apparently. another issue is a communal path that runs through all the gardens parallel to the row of 6 cottages. The gate is on the same side as the gable end and comes out on to the pavement that runs up the side of the house. Social Services said we would be more likely to get somewhere if the path was owned solely by us, as they would have to make a way for him to get out and include dropping the kerbs on the public pavement for safety. Because you have to use the communal path to get to the public pavement they cannot do anything about it.

Cartini

KitCAT69 said:

We were told to contact our county council but they said they had no money until this year's financial year. We contacted them again and they misunderstood thinking we want to lower the pavement for a vehicle to get onto our property. We were told to contact our borough council, who then told us to get in touch with social services. Social Services say we need to talk to the Highways Department of the county council, so we are going round in circles.

This is a typical Civil Service approach. The Civil Service has a private mantra of "deny all knowledge and if that doesn`t help blame someone else".

I work for the Civil Service and experience this every day, it makes my blood boil.

Tori_Scope

I just wanted to say that that sounds really frustrating @KitCAT69

I looked on my local council's website, and it seems as though the Highways department would be who I'd need to contact. They do tend to send people round in circles though, unfortunately. Would there be any way of making the current solution safer for him?

KitCAT69

Yes, if we sort a ramp at the end of the pavements ourselves, but not supposed to really. He'll probably continue using the ramps he has, which actually come out in front of where our car is parked - so that's safe at least. It's not a busy road he comes out onto, but there's a corner at the bottom and someone could come round it fast, as they do. Just hope nothing happens to put the wheels in motion.

Wibbles

This is the same for me - I am unable to access the local post office which is opposite the end of my road - they have a dropped kerb on the PO side but not on my side of the junction - meaning that if I want to get to the PO - I have to go in the middle of the road for 200 yards.

I asked the local council - for a dropped kerb about 4 years ago and was told incorrectly, that the council were not responsible for this - but the PO were !

To be honest - I had forgotten about this but thanks for the reminder - I will take it up again.