I am seriously affected by arthritis throughout my body, and depend very much on my electric scooter to get me to medical appointments and local post office and banks.
I have had two extremely stressful and dangerous trips in the past week and wish to ask your help in bringing this problem to the attention of whatever committee is responsible for pavement maintenance in our area. The first problem is that the pavements outside our sheltered housing scheme on Lyme Regis Road are appallingly and dangerously uneven.
There are 16 bungalows in our scheme, with the average age of tenants around 80 years old, some in their nineties. Apart from the difficulty in using mobility scooters, the pavements are so hazardous for elderly pedestrians, that most of us do not venture very far from our doors.
The pavements on the way into Banstead Village are equally difficult and slope acutely towards the road in many places. Also, the selfishness of local residents in parking cars so far onto the pavements force, not only scooter users, but mothers with pushchairs and toddlers, into the road and the path of fairly fast moving traffic. There have been a few near misses and local residents need to be made aware of it. Builders who block the pavement ramps, denying access to cross safely, are also a problem.
My second bad experience was yesterday, when I had to go to the Nork Clinic for blood tests and used my electric scooter to get there. As I went down Green Curve, the pavements became more and more difficult. There was quite a lot of construction vehicles and materials on the pavement at several points which also had obviously caused quite a bit of damage to the pavements. I reached my destination safely, though quite shaken, but on my return journey, the pavements proved too much for my two-month-old scooter, which broke down at the top of Green Curve and I was obliged to knock on the doors of strangers to get help.
I had to leave my brand new scooter in the care of a stranger, and flag down a passing car to give me a lift home.
Needless to say, this was extremely stressful to an elderly lady, not in the best of health.
The Green Curve problem is exacerbated by the huge trees which have large roots forcing ridges under the pavement surface at intervals along the path.
I have written this to you, not only for my own concerns, but also on behalf of everyone in my neighbourhood who has been inconvenienced by what I have described.
I just wish that someone with authority would take my scooter for the same trips I made, and then they would clearly comprehend my distress.
Barbara Burrows
Lyme Regis Road
Banstead
- Send your letters to: letters@epsomguardian.co.uk
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