In message , Clive D. W. Feather
writes

Long-timers on this group may recall the nutter who claimed that every
station needed to be wheelchair-accessible *right now* and that he
could install a chairlift at Goodge Street and Mornington Crescent for
only a couple of thousand pounds.

He was brought back to my memory recently. Riding the Northern Line
southbound, I was startled when a lady in a wheelchair boarded the
train at Goodge Street, accompanied by a man who, I presume, had bumped
the chair down the steps.

Not many steps at Goodge Street, though - the lift surfaces at street
level, so it is only the flight from the lift landing down to the
platform.

Also, it is quite possible that the lady concerned had walked down the
short flight of stairs. I recall that my sister, towards the end of a
long terminal illness, could manage to walk a very short distance (even
down a flight of stairs) but would need a wheelchair for anything more
than about 30 yards and was not easily able to stand for more than a
minute or so.

They got off, as I did, at Embankment. I last saw them waiting at the
bottom of the escalator for the crowd to thin before, presumably,
ascending it.

Again, it is quite possible that the lady concerned would have got out
of the wheelchair for the escalator ride. As I recall, the escalator
from the Northern line at embankment runs right up to street level.

So perhaps "accessible" is less of an issue than we thought (which
still doesn't justify ignoring it without good cause).

I think that disability (and thus "accessibility") is a many faceted
thing. Someone like Ade Adepitan (*) could probably take his wheelchair
up an escalator unaided!

(*)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/othe...rt/3700977.stm

--
Paul Terry