Mobility in the UK

[hils]

Again this isn't something I know a lot about but I shall try. ceci2176 wanted me to post about your view on the situation for people with mobility impairments in the UK. :)

I think we're pretty good, as a country, about stuff like this. Most public buildings, these days, have wheelchair access and there's a hell of a lot of laws to make sure that disabled people aren't discriminated against when it comes to employment. My apartment building is only a couple of years old and it has both a lift and a ramp for wheelchair access.

Comments

[kazzy-cee.livejournal.com]

Yes, there are laws about discrimination, but they are still rather vague. Businesses are asked to make alterations if possible and so many still don't as they don't have the funding to do so.

There are still a lot of areas where wheelchair access is given priority, but how many shops have you been in at Christmas where there's a ramp on the outside of the building, but inside there is hardly any space because everything is crowded in to sell?

Both my local railway stations have steps and it's impossible to get to the train. My local buses are not equipped with ramps so no-one can use them. The parking areas local to me have a few spaces for disabled users, but very few...

I could go on, but I won't! :)

[hils.livejournal.com]

That's really interesting. I'd say 80% of buses here (maybe more) are wheelchair friendly as is the train station, but I guess living in a big city is different to everywhere else.

[staceyuk.livejournal.com]

So could I... I will mention the toilets for disabled people that you can hardly swing a cat in let alone fit a wheelchair in.

*nods* I avoid shopping at Christmas for that reason.

[ceci2176.livejournal.com]

When it comes to access, I love that there are accessible buses in London! The fact that they were free for wheelchair users wasn't a bad thing either. *g* I was rather bummed that not all underground stations in London were accessible, though.

And when I was in Canterbury in '03, hardly any of the smaller shops were accessible. We have that problem here too, though, and it makes me so mad.

Discrimination laws seem to be quite toothless regardless of country....