Fury over new Leeds bridge
Jean and Keith Worth, Jack Cliffe, Raymond Anderson, Shelia Rimmington and David Littlewood on the steep bridge
A bridge too far – that's the verdict of disabled people on a new Leeds landmark.
The footbridge over the M621 in Hunslet opened in October as the last part of the £50m inner ring road.
But today the long, steep route was condemned as impossible to negotiate by disabled people. They are taking legal advice to try to force changes.
David Littlewood, 63, chairman of Access Committee for Leeds which advises disabled people, said: "It is unusable and impossible to cross for anyone in a manual or even electric wheelchair. The old footbridge was much easier.
"It's causing problems for people to access Morrisons supermarket, shopping at Crown Point and the Tulip, plus the Mariner's Resource Centre."
Campaigners also claim parents with pushchairs have difficulty using the bridge.
The distinctive suspension bridge with a 42m high pylon links Church Street-Hillidge Road and Burton Row, Hunslet.
Wheelchair user Mr Littlewood, of Cottingley, who is disabled after an accident at work, said people faced a two-mile detour through an undesirable underpass at Tunstall Road roundabout, where campaigners have also been calling for access improvements for three years.
He said: "The slope is too steep.
Jean Worth, 62, of Beeston, struggles to push husband Keith, who has multiple sclerosis, in his manual wheelchair over the bridge. She said: "I cannot manage the slope. It is far too difficult and leaves me out of breath."
A Leeds City Council spokeswoman, said: "The ramps which lead to the footbridge are fully compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act."
But today the long, steep route was condemned as impossible to negotiate by disabled people. They are taking legal advice to try to force changes.
David Littlewood, 63, chairman of Access Committee for Leeds which advises disabled people, said: "It is unusable and impossible to cross for anyone in a manual or even electric wheelchair. The old footbridge was much easier.
"It's causing problems for people to access Morrisons supermarket, shopping at Crown Point and the Tulip, plus the Mariner's Resource Centre."
Campaigners also claim parents with pushchairs have difficulty using the bridge.
The distinctive suspension bridge with a 42m high pylon links Church Street-Hillidge Road and Burton Row, Hunslet.
Wheelchair user Mr Littlewood, of Cottingley, who is disabled after an accident at work, said people faced a two-mile detour through an undesirable underpass at Tunstall Road roundabout, where campaigners have also been calling for access improvements for three years.
He said: "The slope is too steep.
Jean Worth, 62, of Beeston, struggles to push husband Keith, who has multiple sclerosis, in his manual wheelchair over the bridge. She said: "I cannot manage the slope. It is far too difficult and leaves me out of breath."
A Leeds City Council spokeswoman, said: "The ramps which lead to the footbridge are fully compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act."
Yorkshire Evening Post, 19th March 2009
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