Main St access denied

Jess shows how they are unable to enter a lot of shops on Pakenham Main Street due to high shopfront steps. Photos: SHELBY BROOKS

By Shelby Brooks

Perusing Pakenham Main Street in the lead up to Christmas is stressful enough- fighting the crowds and worrying you’ve forgotten to buy a gift for a loved one.

But imagine if you can’t even enter most shops due to one simple reason, there’s a step.

That’s something Pakenham’s Jessica Walton is passionate about changing.

As a part-time wheelchair user, Jess was inspired by Australian comedian and disability rights activist Stella Young, who many years ago at 14 audited her own main street in Stawell.

“If she did it at 14, I’m 37- I can do this!” Jess said.

Jess took to the main street in their wheelchair to assess the accessibility for disabled people.

“I knew it was bad but the audit has been good to really see just how bad,” Jess said.

Jess counted 26 shops on Main Street they were unable to enter because of a high step.

It’s not just steps that can cause a shop to be non-accessible for a disabled person.

Other issues Jess encountered was doorways and aisles being too narrow, product displays cluttering entryways and doors being too heavy to open from a seated position.

They tweeted about their experience, which gained a huge reaction online.

“I was amazed at how many non-disabled people responded when I tweeted this, how they hadn’t ever noticed before,” Jess said.

“What I’m hoping with this is that people will see their own main street differently and maybe audit their own areas.”

Jess plans to create a report from their audit to present to Cardinia Shire Council in the new year.

“That’s just Main Street, not even John Street. It says something,” Jess said.

“I’m sure disabled people have been living in Pakenham for as long as the main street has existed.”

Jess spoke to the business owners who’s shops they were unable to enter during the audit, to bring awareness to the issue.

“It can be a bit confrontational for the owners, it’s difficult for people to recognise but if we don’t ever have those conversations then we will never change anything,” Jess said.

“If non-disabled people couldn’t get into 26 shops on Main Street, it would be addressed urgently, there would be an uproar.”

Cardinia Shire Council manager for community and family services Stephen Sparrow said everyone had a duty to ensure accessibility for all, including privately owned businesses.

“We all have a responsibility to think about how members of our community can have equal access to services and businesses whether we’re a supermarket, a café or bar, an office building or council service,“ Mr Sparrow said.

“Many of the sites identified are privately owned and building access requirements are driven by the Building Act and disability legislation.

“[Cardinia Shire Council is] a strong advocate for equal access and we’re taking a number of steps to improve access at our own sites.“

Mr Sparrow said the council aimed to “lead the way“ by encouraging and supporting active participation in community life by ensuring their own services were accessible, equitable and inclusive to all residents.

The Council’s Disability Action Plan 2021 – 26 was endorsed at the council meeting on Monday 13 December and sets out what the council will do to make the community – workplaces, services, programs and venues – more accessible to people with disability.

“Applications are also being invited in January 2022 to join the council’s Access and Inclusion Advisory Committee. This committee represents the interests of people with disability in our area and provides information and advice to the council on issues impacting people with a disability,“ Mr Sparrow said.

“To encourage private businesses to think about access and inclusion proactively, the council also provides free online inclusion training which can be accessed at cardinia.vic.gov.au/accessandinclusion.

“The council is also preparing the Urban Design Framework (UDF) for the Pakenham Town Centre which includes Main Street. We expect the plan to be completed in the first quarter of 2022 with community consultation to follow. The aim of the framework is to improve pedestrian movement and connections within the town centre with improvements to footpath surfaces along Main Street. “