London Assembly Liberal Democrat DeeDoocey yesterday issued a perfect example of how to not to write a press release. You might want to have the offending article to hand as we proceed.
Liberal Democrat research has revealed that eight of London's top tourist attractions will not be accessible to disabled visitors by the time of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Now, stop me if I'm wrong, but top tourist attractions such as the London Eye and the National Portrait Gallery are already fully accessible to wheelchair visitors. What Dee's really talking about is the lack of step-freeaccess at the nearest tube station. But that doesn't make for quite such an arresting opening sentence, does it? She makes exactly the same error in her next sentence.
Top sites identified by Visit London, such as the Tate Galleries and the British Museum, are not on the programme of refurbishment to include disabled access until 2020.
In the full version of her press release, Dee helpfully lists the top 10 tourist attractions she's talking about. Unfortunately it's not the same list given on the Visit London page that she links to. She's included Tate Britain, which isn't one of the top 10, and she's missed out St Paul's Cathedral, which is. Well done Dee.
Commenting on the findings, Liberal Democrat Olympics Spokesperson on the London Assembly, Dee Doocey, said: "In six years time, London will be hosting the greatest of all sporting events.
Oh dear, Dee. Let's try some elementary arithmetic. It's currently five years until 2012, not six. Unless there's some big event happening in 2013 that none of the rest of us know about.
The Mayor talks a lot about an inclusive London, so why isn't he working flat out to get key stations like Charing Cross and Tottenham Court Road accessible to all passengers?
Maybe because it's bloody expensive, Dee. Have you visited either of those two stations? They're sprawling underground warrens with deep level platforms, carved out beneath our streets more than 100 years ago with scant regard for 21st century accessibility legislation. Much as I'm sure Ken would love to install lifts here, there's no easy way of doing so without drilling down through subterranean infrastructure beneath existing buildings. And that costs. How much higher would you like our council tax to be?
Disabled athletes and visitors to the Games travelling on the Javelin trains from Stratford to St Pancras will not be able to continue their journey into central London to visit the capital's top attractions because most of the Tube stations either have steps or escalators. They won't even be able to use Piccadilly or Oxford Circus.
And here's Dee's greatest deceit. Disabled athletes and visitors to the Games will be able to continue their journey into central London from St Pancras - just not by tube. The number 10 bus goes from Kings Cross to the museums in South Kensington, the 91 to the National Gallery, the 45 to Tate Modern and the 17 to St Paul's. Riding on a bus may not be as comfortable as taking the tube, but it's not an impossible journey. TfL have spent millions providing London with a fully accessible bus network, providing greater mobility across the capital than upgrading 275 tube stations ever could. It's patronising drivel to suggest that disabled access to major tourist attractions should be based solely on facilities at the nearest tube station.
The Mayor plans to make 27 Tube stations step-free by 2012 - most of them are in outer London. It is time he ordered a major re-think on priorities and got work started on the stations that will really matter for the Olympics."
No Dee, how dare you impose your misplaced priorities on the people of London. What's wrong with creating accessible stations in the suburbs? It's where most of us live, and a few well-spaced accessible hubs could have just as much long-term impact on capital mobility. There really is no point in spending millions of pounds on a handful of central stations purely because they happen to be located next to ten tourist attractions you found on a list on the internet. And certainly not just for the benefit of four weeks' worth of tourists who'll probably be watching sport in the Olympic Park anyway. And who could always catch a bus.
ENDS
All of us support increasedaccessibility on the tube, but no magic wand can achieve this overnight. There's definitely a cause to champion here, but Dee's campaign has missed the point. Her imaginary 2012 deadline is an illusion, her disregard of bus travel is a deliberate misdirection, and her insistence on prioritising tourists is an insult to London's million-plus disabled residents. Still, that's how not to write a press release. I hope you found it illustrative.
