Older people are “afraid to leave their homes” because of trip hazards, according to Dr Cynthia White, Chair of City and Hackney’s Older People’s Reference Group.
Dr White told the Hackney Post that one common hazard is cyclists leaving hire bikes in dangerous positions.
She added: “There’s a lot of irresponsibility with how people deal with bikes. Lime bikes are left blocking pavements, which means if you come up with a buggy or wheelchair you can’t go around them, you have to go into the road.”
Dr White has personal experience of falls caused by hazards such as litter and abandoned bikes.
She told the Hackney Post: “I have fallen four or five times, none of which have been due to medical causes – I’ve not blacked out, I’ve not been sick or dizzy, it’s environmental hazards.”
“It’s very simple things like rubbish that is dropped and not picked up. I have slipped on a polyethylene bag, which was like a sheet of ice, and I ended up at A&E,” she added.
As chair of City and Hackney’s Older People’s Reference Group, she is worried about the consequences of this on older people, who she said are now “afraid to leave their homes”.
She said: “All of our members see these damages in the environment, and they get afraid to go out. It really knocks your confidence.”
Dr White is concerned that “perfectly avoidable” environmental hazards such as Lime bikes and litter are not being addressed, at the same time as Hackney Council-funded falls prevention classes come to an end.
Staying Steady was a series of classes that helped over-55s in City and Hackney to avoid falls – its cancellation was announced in November as part of £3m cuts to the public health budget.
City and Hackney Public Health is conducting a review of what it calls the falls prevention pathway, which is due to be completed in the next two months.
When cuts were announced in November, City and Hackney Public Health Director, Dr Sandra Husbands, told the Health in Hackney Scrutiny commission that the service was not “going off a cliff”. Many service users worry this could happen at end of this month when classes end.
In a statement to the Hackney Post, a City of London spokesperson said: “We have undertaken on-street action to remove hire e-bikes from streets and pavements, where they have been found to obstruct or cause an immediate danger to others. More than 100 bikes were confiscated during a two-week enforcement period.
“An extra 300 parking spaces for hire bikes have also been committed across the Square Mile to help users park safely and considerately, as the City of London Corporation continues to work closely with other London Councils and Transport for London.”
Lime Senior Public Affairs Manager Alice Pleasant told the Hackney Post: “We never want Lime’s e-bikes to obstruct anyone’s journey and we are committed to ensuring that Hackney remains an accessible and inclusive borough for everyone. As part of our partnership, we invested £450,000 in parking across the borough last year.”
She continued: “We will continue to work with Hackney City Council to invest further in more parking, and ensure that wherever residents cycle in Hackney, there is always a safe and convenient place to park.”
Hackney Council were contacted for comment but did not respond.
Bethan Moss is Hackney Post's beat reporter for Homerton and a freelance journalist. She is studying for an MA in Newspaper Journalism at City, University of London and was formerly Editor-in-Chief of Varsity, the University of Cambridge's only independent newspaper.