Westfield put art before disabled

c/o @hasenschneck

Balls to disabled access! Westfield and Transport for London, fresh from denying disabled Londoners access to the new Shepherd's Bush central line tube station, which they designed without a simple lift, have decided to carry on flipping the finger to wheelchair users by installing some ridiculous and pointless concrete balls at bus stops.

As you will see this farcical piece of street furniture is conveniently located just at the point where the bus doors stop, niftily preventing the use of a ramp.

c/o @hasenschneck

Imagine being the person in a wheelchair at rush hour, with a crowd of impatient commuters glaring at you because you are the reason the bus has to nudge forwards and backwards until it's negotiated these pointless spheres so that yuo can get on. And that's assuming the bus driver even bothers.

That Westfield has a sense of irony, however, is also clear. They've decided to instal these orbs of oppression right smack bang in the middle of the London Paralymic games.

Full marks.

1530 TUESDAY UPDATE: Victory to the people! I understand from a few of you that the balls have been there for a while and Westfield were just claiming it was a TfL matter, nothing to do with us, guv.

But a little bit of unwelcome publicity does wonder to focus minds and this afternoon I received the following message from Westfield, who I fear may not number among my biggest fans:

 

Note not a hint of any kind of apology, or expression of regret for the barriers they have caused through their thoughtlessness. They must have typed that tweet through gritted teeth. But who cares! We're the winners, and rightly so. 

It's not the first time they've behaved badly towards the local community after all...

0530 UPDATE WEDNESDAY - Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group and Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, has responded to Westfield's climb down, and has had this to say:

"The only people that come out well from this fiasco are local bloggers and residents who have expressed their total opposition to the crass decision to make such an important bus stop inaccessible for disabled people. 

"I hope both Westfield and TfL have now learnt a very important lesson."