That there London

tjt6768

Having ventured there recently for a short visit. I was utterly gobsmacked at just how disabled unfriendly the place is :shock:
There are sooooooo many tube stations that are not accessible to us mere disabled bunch. I mean, sure I should have looked into things before going BUT, this is our capital, ther place where the Olympics and Paralympics are to be held.. We stayed in the Ealing Common area, half hour tube ride to the central area.. Two flights of steps each time we wanted to travel to and from.... We had pre-bought our tube tickets, getting a disabled discount as we have disabled rail cards.. We were having to do the whole trip on a budget. Sure, we could have rebelled by bus each time but that meant adding a full hour into each trip. As we all know, time can be a precious thing to the likes of us.
The next tube station that had a lift from where we were was a mile away so not walking distance and no point getting the bus to there as they again added a lot of time to our days : :shock: :roll:
We had to plan our trips into the centre so we ended up at a disabled friendly station each time.
All of the new stations seem to be good but I think that they need to sort the rest out.
Me thinks a letter to Boris is in the pipe line.

Sorry, just bitching as I'm still hurting from the trip.
Me and steps are NOT friends.

Colin1

Hi Tony , yes i spent quite a bit of time in London i was central and using a wheel chair but found it well adapted to the disabled and wheelchair people. Not to sure about the outskirts.
Mersysde is fantastic for disabled people and everywhere is well adapted in the city however on the outskirts its a different story.
One of the really good things is Merseyrail they are so good with the disabled.
If i get the train and offten do by the way i live about 9 miles outside the city centre, the staff put out a ramp for you to board the train, they then inform the destination station what rail car your in and what time your train is due. When you arrive staff are waiting on the platform with ramp to help you from the train. did you have a look at the area about the olympic stadium i would have thought they had gone out of thier way to sort out the outskirts. I was down 2 years ago for the Queens birthday parade. the odd thing that struck me when i was spending time down there was the lack of English people or English speaking people.
Colin

valval

they are quick to make the rest of us change things so why not the capital and the disabled Olympics are going there how are they going to get on??????????

tjt6768

Thanks everyone.
Del, that sounds about right.. Lol
Some of those steps off and on the tubes :shock: Farcical.
I know that it was my own fault for not checking etc. However, with the Olympics etc coming up I would have thought things would have been better.
I was pleasantly surprised at how friendly people in the tube were though. From young gangsta types to your average snob, lol.. As soon as I got on they gave up their seat for me. There us hope yet. Haha

dreamdaisy

Given the age of the original system (and the depths of some of it) I suspect there is not a great deal to be done, it is just not feasible to put in the adaptations etc that would help us. Mr DD is very keen to do a London break but I keep telling him to go on his own, or go with a mate. I can't face it now, that's all there is to it. DD

tjt6768

on done of the tubes, like the Ealing Common one, it wouldn't take too much to put in a ramp, the stairs are wide enough for certain. Can't comment much on the others as we avoided them ones lol.

JuliaHod12

Now there's a thing!
Totally agree on a lot of the points you raise Tony.

A lot of large Metropoli are geared up for disabled access............and lots more aren't :-(

Sadly i fall into the group not considered officially disabled, but am incapacitated enough to need help, and to not be able to walk great distances.............for example, I need a walking stick and or husband for anything further than a few yds, yet am unable to park (or have other half park) in a disabled space (no Blue Badge).

I'm not trying to hasten my decine into a wheelchair by any means, but it isnt easy getting round when you "just" have difficulty walking either!
The pace of life in London is too quick for me and like DD I would rather OH went on his own! :-)
dear old Londinium will have to buck up its ideas before the Summer! :-)

tjt6768

JuliaHod12 wrote:

Now there's a thing!
Totally agree on a lot of the points you raise Tony.

A lot of large Metropoli are geared up for disabled access............and lots more aren't :-(

Sadly i fall into the group not considered officially disabled, but am incapacitated enough to need help, and to not be able to walk great distances.............for example, I need a walking stick and or husband for anything further than a few yds, yet am unable to park (or have other half park) in a disabled space (no Blue Badge).

I'm not trying to hasten my decine into a wheelchair by any means, but it isnt easy getting round when you "just" have difficulty walking either!
The pace of life in London is too quick for me and like DD I would rather OH went on his own! :-)
dear old Londinium will have to buck up its ideas before the Summer! :-)

Yep, they have a lot of work to do hun..
I know what you mean about the pace of life, but being a true stubborn Yorkshireman, I stood still when I needed to, always to one side (I'm not a heathen after all lol) but if that was in somebody's way... TOUGH TITTY MATEY.. live with it