Microreports

Pavement obstructions make shopping trips a nightmare, says Mary


Reported by Mary

Published on Tuesday, March 1st, 2022

street access
Microreports

Pavement obstructions make shopping trips a nightmare, says Mary


Written by Mary

Published on Tuesday, March 1st, 2022

street access

As a blind person, I find that congested pavements make shopping a constant struggle. Bikes, cars, bins, overgrown hedges are regularly blocking my progress on the pavement. There appears to be no enforcement against these obstructions and no easy way of reporting them to Camden Council. When I last tried to report a massively overgrown hedge on my street, which I had cut my face on, it took weeks of going round in circles with the Council, various departments and officials, before any action was taken. We need a more direct route to getting these problems sorted out.

bins on pavement

bike on pavement

Written by Mary


I have lived in Camden since the late 70s (last century!). Following a history degree, I worked in Kings Cross for a trade union for a few years. After leaving I worked with homeless women in Soho and then in Camden working with young offenders on release from prison. I then retrained as a Social Worker at Bristol, working in the area of domestic violence. As a disabled women, I made sure that refuges were accessible and that there was accessible information about them available. I have been involved for several years in local disabled service user groups in Camden, and have chaired Visually Impaired in Camden and a member of that group for many years. I am also a trustee of Camden Disability Action. Since COVID 19 I am unable to go shopping alone or visit other disabled friends. My mobility has been severely curtailed, like many other disabled people. I am still keen however to ensure that transport and streets are accessible to all and that pressure is put on local authorities and transport providers to help bring this about.

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street access

2 thoughts on “Pavement obstructions make shopping trips a nightmare, says Mary

    1. If you want to comment on how such obstructions impact on you then you could report to us and we could run a story on it. You can email [email protected] Please note though that we are not able to directly resolve such issues. That would still be the council.

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