Blind climber calls for clampdown on Camden pavement ads 'trickier than scaling mountains'

A north London council is being urged to ban advertising A-frames from pavements because they make getting about difficult for people with disabilities, a campaigner said.

Resident Red Szell, who is blind, said A-boards "make the pavement hazardous and inhospitable to those of us who are blind or visually impaired, as well as those using wheelchairs or pushchairs."

Red is a keen climber who has conquered the 449ft Old Man of Hoy in Orkney but he told councillors in Camden trying to dodge obstables on the street was trickier than climbing.

He said: "All I want is to walk to my local shops without fear of injury from unnecessary obstacles.

"But the painful reality for me and thousands of disabled people is that our pavements have become obstacle courses strewn with A-boards and other retail street clutter."

He explained that A-boards are a hazard because "their height and weight makes them perfectly designed to injure hands, arms and legs when your white cane or guide dog fails to locate them".

He said: “As a blind person I am more intimidated by obstructions than by rocks.”

He explained that he gets more injuries from walking into A boards than tripping over tables and chairs and said the street “clutter” can force people into kerbs, lamp posts and parking to avoid them.

He asked Camden council to look at pavement cafe licences too and consider if they should have A boards in addition to tables and chairs on the street.

Cabinet member for a sustainable Camden Adam Harrison recently did ablindfold walk with The London Sight Loss Council.

He said: “Keeping Camden’s pavements clear for everybody  benefits everybody.”

He said it can be off-putting for people if there are problems for people navigating high streets.

Cllr Harrison said it was essential that people can get about easily  and it was important that A boards do not impede people.

He said post-Covid businesses and residents told him they needed to support businesses and asked for A boards.

He pledged that officers will check hotspots and make sure the rules are clearly set out by the council.

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