A DISABLED Frome man has spoken out about his difficulties navigating the town in a mobility scooter, and is appealing to local people to be considerate when parking cars or using the pavement.
Richard Bray, 69, has recently begun using a mobility scooter, and has found that pavement obstructions are common in Frome and sometimes stop him getting around. He is encouraging people to think carefully about the consequences of parking or leaving bins on the pavement.
Richard said, “I am astounded how difficult it is to get around town. I encounter numerous problems with people not thinking outside of their own interests, but I don’t think it is in any way deliberate.
“Car/van drivers will often park half on the pavement to reduce inconvenience to the main highway, but without considering what other problems they might create.
“I have found myself in situations where there is no way my scooter can get past a parked car, and the curb is too high to access the road and the pavement too narrow to turn round.
“Most scooters can only negotiate a three inch curb, and there are many mobility/wheelchair crossing points around the town, but it is not unusual to find those points obstructed too.
“I would prefer and feel safer not to use my scooter on the road, and the last thing I want to do is cause problems on the road by burning rubber at 8mph.
“Wheelie bins that are left on the pavement as a permanent feature can also leave very little room to pass, and should the scooter wheels slip over the curb it could well tip over.
“I have no wish to antagonise people, but just ask them to think and show some consideration to people perhaps less healthy or agile than themselves.”
