British Paralympian slams Games for lack of disability access

British-paralympian-disability-access

Rhi Storer - Local Democracy Reporter | Thursday 4th August 2022 3:49pm

Spectators with disabilities have claimed blue badge parking at the Commonwealth Games are “a total joke”, with one Paralympian volunteer describing her disappointment at the levels of accessibility. 

Tully Kearney MBE, a British Paralympian, signed up to volunteer at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre to support other athletes who are competing for coveted medals. She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that during her volunteering she was “disappointed” by the lack of availability of accessible transport and parking options for disabled people.

She said: “I was really excited to support our athletes and give something back to the sport I love. It’s really important that everyone gets a chance to go and attend these Games whether they are disabled or not and during the Games I’ve found it quite difficult getting to and from the venues”.

The athlete, who won gold in the women’s S5 100m freestyle at the Tokyo Paralympics, claimed she was told to “leave a lot of time” to commute to the Aquatics Centre and to get through security. The journey, she told the LDRS, was around a mile or a 25 minute walk, or wheelchair push, from the nearest blue badge car park.

She said: “This is an incredibly long way for an ambulant disabled person to walk, or a wheelchair user to push themselves.

“After the first day it was clear I would not be able to manage this trek before and after my shifts therefore alternative arrangements had to be made for me. I think in the future more consultation is needed with disabled people when planning major events. Despite these issues it has been an incredible experience for me to be able to volunteer.”

Amanda Kearney, Tully’s mother, said they had had to give away complimentary tickets to the opening ceremony rehearsals because of a lack of blue badge parking.

She said: “We thought about going to the opening ceremony rehearsals, but having no blue badge parking options available at the Alexander Stadium meant it was not possible so we gave the tickets away.

“We also bought tickets for the athletics but then found that, again, we could not get blue badge parking so now we are not sure how we can attend. It is a shame for disabled people who bought tickets in good faith such a long time ago without knowing that there would be this issue with accessing venues”.

The Games has also been billed as ones dedicated to active transport, with people being urged to use the 30 minutes of free cycling available, alongside free bus, rail, and metro travel with a Commonwealth Games ticket.

On its travel website, Birmingham city council, who invested £184.2 million alongside the Government’s own £778 million into the Games, claimed the Games would “influence, inspire and change the transport behaviours of those delivering and attending the events”.

A Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 spokesperson said: “For every day of the Games, we have 800 free blue badge parking spaces available across our venue portfolio.  The number of spaces available depends on the size and location of that venue. We also have additional support, such as accessible buggies, on-site at some venues, to help transport people who find it difficult to walk long distances.

“Accessible shuttle buses are in operation from park and ride facilities and we have highlighted all accessible public transport options on websites and information shared directly with customers.

“To ensure that our customers had the information they required, we have contacted all ticket holders who had expressed an interest in blue badge parking and accessible travel. We have also sent information to all spectators who had purchased accessible tickets, to make sure that they were fully aware of the options available too.

“We have continued to share information with spectators, and we have regularly updated our website, to provide up-to-date information for all new and existing customers.”

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