Disabled drivers struggling to get to city’s venues

Councillor Neil Harrison (Cotham, Lib Dem) is highlighting the problems that disabled people are having getting to top Bristol culture venues like the Colston Hall and the Watershed.

Councillor Harrison says, “I was alerted to some of the problems by local residents. For example, the disabled parking bays by the Colston Hall have been temporarily taken away for the building works. The nearest parking is now in the Trenchard Street car park. This is quite a walk away for a person with mobility issues. To make it worse, you can’t pre-pay for parking at weekends, leaving disabled people having to queue for a long time.”

Cotham resident Jill Ford says, “I like to visit the Watershed cinema with my friend who has breathing problems and can’t walk very far. There are two dedicated bays at the back, but these are often full as they serve the whole of the waterfront area. It makes really difficult to manage trips out.”

Jill’s friend Catherine Mercer says, “Available parking space would make a real difference to disabled drivers whose lives are often severely restricted.”

Councillor Harrison continues, “I have contacted the managers of both the Colston Hall and the Watershed. While they are sympathetic to the problem, they aren’t in a position to find solutions. I have also spoken to the parking managers in the Council, but they tell me that there is nothing they can do either.”

“We must find a way through this! We can’t have a large section of our society being excluded from accessing the cultural highlights of the city. There may well be problems with other venues too. The Council needs to do a full audit and find immediate solutions for Colston Hall and the Watershed.”

Rae Gingell, Co-chair of the Council’s Disability Equality Forum said, "There is insufficient provision to Blue Badge holders wanting to use roadside parking spaces in Bristol city centre – there is an increase in the numbers of disabled people requiring these spaces yet the number of available spaces is decreasing. This effectively limits disabled peoples’ access to goods, services and leisure venues albeit by indirect discrimination. We would like the new administration to address this situation as soon as possible."