'Councillors should spend a day in a wheelchair'

A man has told councillors to a spend a day in a wheelchair so they can understand what it is like for his disabled mother to navigate potholes.

Frazer Merritt, 44, said he was left "shocked" when he returned to Cambridge after five years to reportedly see the same potholes that were present before he had left.

His 82-year-old mother, Chris Merritt, meanwhile, added that the state of the roads and pavements made it difficult for her to get around and her complaints go unanswered.

Cambridgeshire County Council said that safe travel was a "key priority" and it was spending more than £78m on "delivering highways maintenance".

Frazer Merritt questioned why millions of pounds were being spent on projects like the Adams Road Cycle Street when the number of potholes - and the size of them - was ever-growing.

"I was away for five years and was shocked to see the same potholes had just got bigger. I don't know what the council is doing," he said.

"My mum can only walk a block at most. It's difficult pushing her around Cambridge because many of the sidewalks and roads are in a pretty bad state.

"There's been several instances where she's had to stop and get out. I find the whole situation perplexing."

Earlier this year, the BBC revealed the number of potholes being reported to Cambridgeshire County Council had jumped from 500 a week to more than 2,000.

That 300% increase doesn't surprise Chris, who said: "It's ridiculous that in a city like this, with all these different colleges, the sidewalks are broken up – it's crazy.

"I've complained but it doesn't make any difference – they just ignore me," she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

According to a Freedom of Information request submitted by Frazer, the council had so far spent £2m on 'England's first ever Cycle Street' out of a target cost of £2.4m.

Once complete, the road, which is currently used by 3,000 cyclists at peak times, will see cyclists and pedestrians given priority over motorists.

Frazer described it as a council "vanity project" and said that £2.5m was a "lot of money" to spend on "superficial changes" when disabled access needed improving.

"I would challenge any council member to spend a day in a wheelchair and see how difficult it is to get around," he said.

But Jonathan Camp, project manager of the Greater Cambridgeshire Partnership, argued it would "make the road safer and more accessible for everyone".

"We're widening and resurfacing the footways and reducing on-street parking," he said.

"[This] will significantly improve access for wheelchair users and others who rely on safe, unobstructed pavements."

The county council said it was "saddened to hear" Chris has had difficulty using her wheelchair in parts of Cambridge.

"Ensuring safe travel is a key priority for us," a spokesperson added.

"Over the past two years, the council has made the biggest investment in the highways network in over a decade – we're spending more than £78m on delivering highways maintenance.

"The city's streets have exceptionally high usage. Our highways teams regularly inspect all our roads, including any reports of potholes they receive."

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