City centre parking 'too difficult' for disabled

Disabled residents are avoiding Worcester city centre because parking is "too difficult or unsafe", campaigners have said.

Worcester Disability Forum has called on the city council to review all authority-owned car parks and disabled parking provision.

The council said it had a proud record on equality and inclusion and was working with the forum to look at potential improvements.

Elena Round, founder of the disability forum and an independent city councillor, said: "Accessible parking is not a luxury – it is an essential part of enabling disabled people to participate fully in community life."

All 14 of the council's car parks have been accredited by Park Mark, which measures how safe, tidy and well-lit they are.

However, Ms Round said: "Many disabled residents tell us they avoid Worcester city centre completely because parking is too difficult or unsafe. That is unacceptable.

"We are calling on the city council to conduct a full accessibility audit of all its car parks and review disabled parking provision."

The forum said many local car parks had "significant barriers for people with mobility impairments, wheelchair users, and those with adapted vehicles".

Key issues identified included steep inclines, narrow walkways and uneven gradients within and around car parks, making navigation difficult and unsafe for wheelchair users and people with limited mobility.

The forum said there were not enough accessible parking bays, so disabled residents were often left unable to park close to essential services.

It said height-restriction barriers were also an issue, because they could prevent access for wheelchair-adapted and mobility-equipped vehicles.

A city council spokesperson said: "Worcester City Council has been praised for its leadership on equality, diversity and inclusion in the city in recent years.

"Our Accessibility Conference in November was part of our ongoing commitment to inclusion, and following this, we met with Worcester Disability Forum and discussed car parks.

"We are working together to identify a set of potential improvements so we can then seek the views of disabled people across the city."

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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