One Small Step

Crater Manchester THURS30MAR23

or the past five years, Mary Hackett has been getting in touch with local councillors and the Greystones Municipal District office.

And that’s because, for the past five years, Mary hasn’t been able to make a clear path from her house at the railway arch on Victoria Road to the harbour just 400 yards away.

Mary in April 2020

“The footpath has been in disrepair for that whole five years,” Mary tells the Guide, “and I’ve been given every excuse under the sun why. The main one being that everything else around the footpath has to be upgraded first.

“It affects a lot of people here. I’s not like anyone would want to walk the other way and hang out at the garage for the afternoon…”

And so it is that Mary has written what she hopes will be her final letter to the local councillors and the gang down at GMD…

Dear Councillors,

I am writing in connection with the pedestrian path from just before the bridge on
Victoria Road to Greystones harbour.

This path is inaccessible to many users of wheelchairs, scooters, buggies and rollators, and therefore many have to go onto the road – which is narrow and also a safety risk – to avoid difficult bumps and uneven surfaces.

I am disabled and use a rollator. It is impossible for me to safely go to the harbour. I cannot go onto the road as the step back up to the path is too high.

In the past 5 years, I have made representations to Derek Mitchell, Simon Harris and Greystones Municipal District to have repalrs carried out. I have been given various reasons why repairs could not be done.

It is an utter disgrace that this repair has not been done. Even when I was able-bodied, 6 or 7 years ago, I had a nasty fall. Records should be on file at the Greystones Municipal District building.

I would appreciate any help with this matter.

Yours sincerely,
Mary Hackett

Here’s hoping the repair is sooner rather than in another five years. It’s been a long time since the founder of Open Door gotten up to some proper mischief.