Plans ignore the disabled
I KEEP seeing proposals for ideas to remove all parking from the Market Place, therefore removing accessibility for anyone with mobility issues.
As a disabled member of the Ashbourne community, this raises serious concerns.
At present there are two disabled parking bays on the Market
Place. These have been a bone of contention for years, due to the abuse of them by people who do not have a Blue Badge, and since the Flower Cafe and the Chip Shop were permitted to extend their outdoor seating areas due to Covid, the spaces haven’t always been accessible, therefore restricting access to that area of town to anyone who needs access to disabled parking.
Another concern with the proposals, is a lack of disabled parking bays at the top of St John Street.
Before Covid, Blue Badge holders could park legally for three hours due to the single yellow line. This was really helpful for those who needed to visit the chiropodist, opticians and businesses at that end of town.
Since the barriers have been in place, the majority of the space has been marked as a loading bay, therefore nowhere for Blue Badge holders to park. The Ashbourne Town Team were quoted in last week’s paper as saying “there is adequate replacement space in Shaw Croft, Auction Close car park and the overspill car park.’
All well and good if you’re ablebodied and can walk anywhere and carry your own shopping etc.
For those of us with restricting mobility issues, parking in those car parks whilst needing to access a business on the Market Place or St John Street isn’t really an option.
Disabled people are a part of this community and would like to have access to these spaces without always having to have someone with them. Being independent is extremely important, but it’s very disappointing when that independence isn’t being considered by those who want to ‘improve’ the town.
Please think of the whole community, not just part of it.
Dawn Routledge Ashbourne