There’s nothing my daughter Eléonore likes more than walking (or wheelchairing) around a street full of shops and cafés. Her favourite stomping ground is Kentish Town Road. She knows the area well. She has lived there for over ten years.
All very ‘normal’ except that Ellie has profound and multiple learning disabilities and has frequent and unpredictable epileptic seizures.
Her very familiarity with NW5 means that when she is out with her two support workers there are very few surprises.
The opposite is true when Ellie wanders around a street that is new to her or, more importantly, to her support workers. Not only do they have to keep their eyes on Ellie but they have to become aware of their new surroundings: sightlines for oncoming cars and bikes, pedestrian crossings, traffic lights, shared vehicle and pedestrian space, dropped curbs for wheelchairs, shops without step-free access, parked hire e-bikes and scooters. Ellie has no sense of danger so her support workers have to be especially vigilant.
With all this in mind I took part in an accessibility walkabout along Phoenix Road. Camden Council are planning to improve the community feel of this road which is in the heart of Somers Town residential area.
As part of its consultation process the council commissioned and independent urban designer and Camden Disability Action (CDA) to assess Phoenix Road for its ease of use for disabled people.
On the day, I was part of a diverse group of carers and disabled people who walked around Phoenix Road. I was there to ‘represent’ Ellie’s and her support workers’ experience. Ellie wouldn’t have the mental capacity to understand what was happening and, more likely, would have been on the lookout for a cake shop.
Other (visible and invisible) conditions represented included blindness, autism, mild learning disabilities and mobility difficulties. As we wandered along Phoenix Road we reported our experiences to members of Camden staff.
It would be a great goal for Camden to make every single shop, café, pub and office in Phoenix Road to be step-free by the end of 2026.
We should applaud Camden for working to improve Phoenix Road as a welcoming, safe and accessible local community. However, our main findings were that traffic management was confusing to both blind and sighted pedestrians, the well-intended seating areas were not welcoming enough and that too many shops and cafés did not have step-free access.
Under the terms of the Equality Act 2010 organisations have to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities. For most of the shops and cafés in Phoenix Road that would mean providing low cost ramps at their entrances for customers to enter (and spend money!).
It would be a great goal for Camden to make every single shop, café, pub and office in Phoenix Road to be step-free by the end of 2026. And what an encouragement to other local areas.
