Sarah Lehman
- What do you feel is the #1 accessibility issue facing the city of London?
I believe the biggest accessibility issue facing London is the ability for people with disabilities to fully participate in our community. Accessibility isn’t just about whether someone can enter a building. It’s about whether they can get to work, find an affordable and accessible home, access services, participate in community life, and feel like they are a valued part of our city.
Right now, too many barriers exist between people living with disabilities and those opportunities. Transportation, housing, employment, and community services are all connected. When one piece doesn’t work, it can make it much harder for someone to participate fully in our community.
As a city, we need to think about accessibility from the outset when planning our neighbourhoods, housing, transportation, and public spaces. We also need to listen to people with lived experience and involve them in the decisions that affect their lives.
With my time as a Developmental Service Worker, working with adults, I’ve found that inclusion should not be an afterthought or an accommodation. It should be part of how we build London.
2. How will you commit to improving accessible housing opportunities in our city?
Housing affordability and accessibility go hand in hand. It isn’t enough to say that we need more housing if the housing being built isn’t accessible or affordable to the people who need it. I would advocate for more accessible and adaptable housing options as part of London’s housing growth, while ensuring that accessibility is considered at the planning and development stage rather than treated as something to address later.
I also want to see the City work more closely with housing providers, community organizations and people with lived experience to understand where the biggest gaps are. We need housing that allows people to remain in their communities and live as independently as possible.
My goal is to support a London where people with disabilities can find a home, stay in their community, and build a life without being forced to leave because accessible options aren’t available.
3. How will you work to improve accessible transportation including conventional transit, Paratransit, taxis and ride sharing?
Transportation is one of the most important pieces of creating an inclusive city. If someone cannot reliably get where they need to go, it affects their ability to work, attend appointments, volunteer, or access services that help someone participate fully in their community.
For conventional transit, I would continue to advocate for safer and more accessible bus stops and shelters, improved evening and weekend reliability, and better connections within neighbourhoods, particularly to employment areas and essential services. These are already priorities in my platform.
For Paratransit, I believe we need to look closely at the experience of actually using the service, including the time it takes to call and make a booking. As someone who has waited with multiple phones to start calling at the moment Paratransit opens at 7 am for bookings, and called 93 times in one sitting before getting in the queue for a booking, I understand the frustration that people must feel with the difficulty it can be to even get in line for a booking. If someone has to spend a significant amount of time trying to get through simply to arrange transportation, that is itself an accessibility barrier. I would advocate for improved booking processes and better response times so that people can make plans with greater confidence and independence.
Ultimately, public transportation should connect people to opportunity, not create another barrier to it. A truly accessible transit system allows people with disabilities to get to work, appointments, school, volunteer, community events, and any place that makes London feel like home.
Accessible London Coalition 