‘Everyone else can just step around these obstacles, but I cannot’
A WHEELCHAIR user says she feels unable to leave her flat when bins, litter and furniture are left in the middle of pavements in Splott.
Kallandra Stapleton, 50, of Splott, who uses a wheelchair, said she is unable to go about her day-to-day business due to the obstacles she faces.
The bulky items that spill across the pavements block the way for wheelchair users and make it impossible for her to get past, she said.
“I have had to find alternative routes and I often have to backtrack, making me late getting to things,” she said.
“I have seen mattresses and piles of furniture on pavements outside houses of multiple occupancy on Railway Street and Ordell Street.
“There is usually something dumped at least a couple of times a week on my routes, sometimes more. Even reporting to the council, they sometimes take ages to clear things up.”
Some of the clutter making the streets inaccessible is illegally dumped, she claimed – but some, she feels, is down to the sheer number of bins on the street.
Cardiff Council included Splott in a new recycling scheme trial and the area will move fully to the new system on Tuesday, February 20.
The new scheme introduces a blue caddy and a red and blue sack, which means there will be more items to navigate on collection days – find out more here.
“On bin/bag collection days most pavements are a gauntlet nightmare of assorted bin bags – seven types in total now,” she said.
“The bags blow all over, and the bins tip over when empty. And bin men leave them blocking the pavement.
“I dread to think how blind people are faring with all the clutter, and others with mobility issues.”
Another resident, Fiona Drennan said she had to move “all manner of bins left out” to help a blind couple get to a bus stop while walking down Tweedsmuir Road in Tremorfa.
A Cardiff Council spokesperson said: “Waste has to be presented on the curbside for collection. It is the responsibility of residents to bring the bins back into the confines of their property afterwards, or they could receive a fine.”
Earlier this week we reported on rubbish, litter, and fly-tipping causing issues for people in Adamsdown and Splott.
