A disability rights campaigner is seeking a better route through York station from the York central development to the new multi-story car park.
Flick Williams says the current plans will leave people with wheelchairs, buggies and heavy luggage, a journey that involves two sets of lifts going from footbridge to subway and back to platform level.
She’s called it a frustrating journey before one has even got on a train.
Watch the meeting where Flick Williams raised the issues.
She has now secured a meeting with the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, David Skaith, to hammer out a better proposal, which she says would involve extending one of the subways, beneath the tracks, out to the York Central development.
Flick Williams asked the Combined Authority Meeting if the Mayor could cast his mind back several years when she gave him a tour of inaccessible areas of York.
She told him then about the barriers posed by the ‘built environment’ and how we got to such a situation, one decision at a time.
She went on: “Well, now we have another decision approaching, which has the potential to build in inequitable access for years to come if the wrong choices are made.
“The architects for York Central partners recently told disabled people the step-free access to the western station entrance will be via lifts that will take one up, not down.
“The lifts will adjoin the extended, enclosed footbridge and a new lift sited on platform nine, where a Costa kiosk currently resides.
“But then to continue your journey, you must find other lifts to take you down to the subways, either on platform five or further along on platform nine, creating additional difficulties for those who are blind or visually impaired.
“Of course, those who don’t need step-free access, just continue along the bridge and descend stairs at whatever platform they need. We, on the other hand, have a convoluted journey, both above and below ground to reach the same place.
“Equity of access? No, we are told, once this is done, some time later, without budget or time frame, internal station access will be improved.
“This will never happen. It can’t, because station assets such as the old station master’s office, now WH Smith, are listed buildings.
“The only way to achieve equity of access is to tunnel through from one of the existing subways to allow lifts from York Central to join it by travelling down.
“But York Central partners tick the box of providing step-free access to the west of the station, but doing it in this way bakes in permanently a long, convoluted, difficult journey for disabled passengers.”
Ms Williams also said there was “woefully inadequate” blue badge parking in York Central.
“York Central partners tell me, go lobby the mayor. He’s the only person with the funds to change this. So here I am.”
She asked that David Skaith arrange a meeting before the plans are submitted. He replied: “I don’t have any formal role in the York Central development. However, I do have an incredibly keen interest in the sites
“I wasn’t aware of the initial findings that you’ve raised.
“However, I am more than happy to meet with developers, meet with yourself, and request a meeting for you to have with the developers to discuss these areas in more detail.”
A date for that meeting has not been arranged yet.
