Jane's Action For Sheffield Streets

Jane's Action For Sheffield Streets

 Click To Read Article.

After much success with the dropped kerbs being repaired in my area, I have had a second article printed in the local Newspaper. Thanks go out for the positive journalism on my behalf. 

Patience is a virtue!

Im trying to be patient, as requested by councillor Jack Scott, but guess what? I can't wait till 2016 to be able to use the pavements safely!

I'm also waiting for a reporter to call me back from Calendar news and a solicitor from Irwin Mitchell to call at 2pm this afternoon. I'm hopeful that they'll agree to represent me against the council on a no win no fee basis.

So as you can see its patience all round and I've never been good at it! I'll have to embrace this new quality in order to get better at it! So will you too actually as we wait for news from all the above.

Going nowhere fast

Inactivity

I've had a letter from the Sheffield City Council which came after the Star article was published but referring to a call I made to them several weeks before. Basically the upshot is.....NOTHING!

The response said that all areas are scheduled to be improved and that schedule seems to be written in stone! They say that all roads are inspected regularly and made safe when needed. Well I say that stinks because, as you'll know from this blog, such an inspection took place at my request which resulted in......tiny, ineffectual patches in indiscriminate areas. Do I feel safe? "No"!

Now I need to reiterate that to them and insist that they ask me where feels unsafe. I refuse to wait till 2016

New Blog Communication

Today I have been busy writing to Disability News, Streets Ahead, Sheffield Star, MP Clive Betts, and Sheffield City Council with news of my news disability blog.

A Trip To The Shops

Take a trip to the shops with me, and and see why I asking Sheffield City Council to improve the pavements, and some drop kerbs in my area:

Making a start

Well quite a lot has happened up to now so I'll give you a précis before keeping you up to date with progress in realtime in the future.

So! I started by taking the videos and then contacted the "Streets Ahead" dept at Sheffield City Council to inform them that I was starting a campaign to get local pavements and dropped kerbs improved,from a safety perspective. I had,a few weeks before,fallen from my wheelchair as it tipped over and threw me head first due to the kerb.

They informed that they had no record of my earlier request for three specific dropped kerbs to be improved! (6 months earlier)! Since then I have corresponded with their sub contractors "Amey". 

The upshot is that their inspector has decided that the pavements and kerbs are ""safe for general public use" and so small patches on my road were marked and patched up. Anything else must wait till 2016 when our turn comes up in the bid to improve roads and pavements for the whole city.

This has left me livid and determined to challenge this, even legally if necessary, as I am a member of that public but clearly have not been considered in their decisions! So! I contacted the local councillor ( Jack Scott ) and the local Newspaper. "The Sheffield Star"

Simultaneously I put my videos and comments on Facebook for all my friends, and one video on YouTube called "Townend Trip". Please view it on there to push up the hits.

Tomorrow I'll tell you more as I'm hoping an article will be published in the Sheffield

Star tonight. 

Access All Areas

Hello and welcome to my first blog. I am a 50yr old wheelchair user as

A consequence of multiple sclerosis recently rendering me unable to walk. I am heading up a one woman campaign to fight for better disabled access,initially in my local area of Sheffield.(Gleadless Townend).

I've begun my campaign which has the logo below. I started by using my iphone to video the state of pavements and dropped kerbs from a wheelchair view. "Absolutely shocking"was the response of Facebook friends who saw the three videos. These blogs will take you through my actions and progress and failures as I attempt to prove that having pavements in such a state is a breach of the law (Equality and Human Rights Act) in that, if no improvements are made, then no "access to goods and Services" is being provided!

So as you can see I am going to be taking on the big guys and I'll need all the support I can get. Look in for episode 1 tomorrow.