MY ATTENTION has been drawn to an item you ran about a “Yellow Ribbon” campaign by Oxford Pedestrians Association (Oxford Mail, April 12).
This campaign highlights the problems caused to pedestrians by pavement clutter.
As the representatives of people with mobility difficulties, we would like to assure you and the public that any pavement clutter is a far greater problem to the disabled people who we represent than it is to the average pedestrian.
We support this campaign wholeheartedly but would like to emphasise that if you are blind, on crutches, or in a wheelchair or mobility scooter, for example, clutter may discourage you totally from going out, or force you out into the road, if you can get to a dropped kerb.
The difficulties caused by parked cars, vans and bicycles, A-boards and other displays, piles of merchandise or rubbish, as well as legal street furniture, can be a major issue in the exclusion of a large number of people from the streets of our city and our towns.
The clutter is discriminatory, some of it is illegal and most of it is inconsiderate.
Oxfordshire Unlimited, on behalf of all people with mobility difficulties, applauds any effort to reduce or remove such clutter entirely.
PETER HINDSHAW Chairperson Oxfordshire Unlimited Epwell Banbury
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