EALING Council has been slammed by locals after the state of pavements in the area forced a wheelchair user to use the road.
One local, named Mark, bemoaned the uneven pavements which are littered with hazards and create an obstacle in the everyday lives of vulnerable locals in West London.
The streets surrounding Windsor Road in Ealing, just yards from Ealing Broadway station, were captured by Mark and show the issues that leave wheelchair users forced to use the road.
Mark’s video shows an elderly person in a wheelchair being pushed along the road past a line of parked cars.
The socially conscious citizen indicates that the reason the road is preferred is due to several issues with pavements in the local area.
One image shows a lumpy and uneven pavement with a crack in the middle and a tree on one side.
Another picture taken by Mark indicates that anyone with a pram or in a wheelchair would be in for a bumpy ride with a large tree root growing under the concrete.
A further photograph snapped by the local leaves little to the imagination as the tight street is made narrower by a tree which leans inward.
The pavement also breaks down from paving stones to chipped concrete before returning to paving stones after five metres.
Almost the entirety of Windsor Road is broken up by trees on the pavements in various increments which has left locals frustrated.
Mark took to social media yesterday to voice his concerns, writing: “Windsor Road W5.
“I see this gentleman in a wheelchair being pushed in the road nearly every day, alongside mobility scooter users and parents pushing buggies.
“But why don’t they use the pavement? Because they can’t get past the obstacles on it, Ealing Council sort this out.”
His post received over 115 likes with dozens of comments from social media users who were quick to voice their opinions.
One said: “The pavement is not wide enough for tree pits, the trees are suffering and so is the pavement. It’s on the council to make sure the pavements are up to code.”
Another added: “I know this is slightly different, but some paths are sloped to the road, it hurts hips and back to walk on them.”
A third replied: “I am disabled and use an electric wheelchair and I have to say that the footpaths in Haringey, North London, are probably the worst I have ever encountered.
“Some of the dropped kerbs are three or four inches above the road surface and are impossible to use. I therefore have to use the road.”
Speaking today, an Ealing Council spokesperson said: “Ealing is a very leafy borough, and a side effect of having so many trees is that some of our pavements suffer from rising tree roots.
“This is particularly true of Windsor Road, which has a number of large, mature trees lining it.
“An independent highway surveyor carries out a full condition survey of all council-maintained pavements and roads every year.
“Windsor Road is also inspected monthly by a member of our team, and any defects that meet our safety intervention criteria are addressed, the last inspection was on 21 February.
“We are investing £25m on a 4-year programme of improvements to the borough’s roads and pavements. In the last financial year, we resurfaced around 80 of them, and the same number of improvements are being delivered in the current year.
“Residents can report any issues with roads and pavements online or via the Love Clean Streets app.”
