Lack of transport accessibility highlighted in Stockwell

On Friday we launched our accessibility manifesto at Stockwell tube station - including our aim to make a third of the tube system step-free by 2018 (both Boris and Ken has failed to fulfill their promises on this).

Both our mayoral candidate Jenny Jones and Jean Lambert MEP came down. It was great to see so much interest, especially from the broadcast media.

I am trying to get hold of a copy of the ITN piece, but in the meantime you can read this on the BBC website.

The tube map we produced, which shows what the tube map looks like if you have a mobility impairment has also been a big hit on social media networks.

It’s been great to see the growing issue of accessibility in London being highlighted in the run up to the paralympics.

Lambeth and Southwark are particularly bad in this respect – something which we have wanted to highlight during the London Assembly election campaign. Last year we got the Guardian newspaper to make the trip from Lambeth to the site of the Paralympics with disabled travelers to draw attention to the issue.

Of the 8 tube stations in Lambeth only 1 (Brixton) is wheelchair accessible. A freedom of information request that I submitted uncovered that the lifts at Brixton station have been out of order for 164 days since 2006.

Eight out of eleven overground stations in Southwark could also be impacted by cuts leaving them unstaffed and “no go areas” for many travelers. This is likely to make it the hardest hit area in the whole country if the proposals go ahead.

Channel 4 are now also taking up the theme with their “no go Britain” campaign.

You can read our accessibility manifesto in full here