Building Strong Communities

I think it would be wise to look at widening pavements, this will allow people to get around more easily on our high streets, as well as making them safer for all.
This may mean taking space from road users (oh no)/s
Having reliable and accessible transport should always be a priority.
Additionally this will allow more seating to be placed around our high streets.
Shops should welcome those that are elderly or disabled to use their toilet facilities. Maybe show a bus pass for free access? As a younger individual I know to buy something first but I also have good control of my bladder where others may not.

Reimagining London - the current GLA programme for high streets is nice but risible, not nearly enough. Proper and serious redesign is needed, looking at London as a whole and planning where to demolish and rebuild, and where there is the possibility of upcycling and reshaping. The pressure should be taken off the centre of London by creating a network of local town centres, each with its own characteristic identity, each offering an attractive 'square' (whatever shape), very green, with children's play areas, cafes, restaurants, local hubs for those working at home, plus arts centres, leisure centres of various kinds, museums, other attractions. Through roads should avoid residential areas, and avoid the 'town centre' - get the high streets off the main roads. Public transport between these centres should be as important as routes to/from Central London. These centres should be tourism attractors in their own right, with accommodation to match.

A kite mark is a good idea, but LAs have to want to achieve it, so it has to have status. The problem we have in my area is that the local BIDS has no community input, no community improvements, and the LA and TfL are making changes that impact on the local population, including the elderly, without taking any notice of what residents have said in the 'consultations'. There are no longer buses that take residents directly to local hospitals, or to the other hospitals and health facilities that the NHS has concentrated services in, at a distance from the West End. For the less abled residents, who used to be able to take two buses to reach their appointment location, routes cuts mean they now have to take three buses. No local runner bus/vehicle has been provided to take such residents, or less-abled shoppers/diners, to the bus stops of services that have been moved. The transport needs of less-able shoppers/tourists have been ignored despite representative groups expressing their concerns about this problem during consultations. Older people, less able people - they are just not a big enough market for the commercial interests to care, and it is they who rule the 'place-making'. The LA seems to have no interest at all except in putting on a show of consulting, ticking boxes, but with no intention at all of allowing the views or needs of any local residents or groups representing people who are less able to actually influence their 'place-making' designs at all. There are clearly no real teeth to any policies that do require less-abled or elderly people's needs to be catered for in town planning/place-making,/public realm design. Which is the opposite of the original definitions of place-making - a term co-opted by traffic planners to make them appear to be responsive to sustainability principles & human-centred design.