Overview

This is not the first car park that I've had to work hard to figure out how to access as a wheelchair user, but it is the first one that I have come across where large parts of the parking are only accessible via stairs -- including the EV chargers, if there even are any! Pedestrian access is via The Light, car entrance is via Dudley Way/St Annes Street.

Transport & Parking

The car park is north of the pedestrian zone in Leeds city centre, close to Leeds Art Gallery and the Henry Moore Institute, Leeds Cathedral and Leeds Central Library and not for from Millennium Square and Leeds City Museum. There are bus stops on The Headrow (7, 7A, 7S, 42, X10, 508) and Albion Street (stop also called Headrow; 1, 1A, 5, 5A, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 38, 39, 56). There is no on-street parking in the area.

Access

There is step-free access at all three entrances with automatic sliding doors. There are long inclines at the Headrow and Albion Street entrances with contrast markings. If you are entering the courtyard from the other side, there is a downward slope outside until you reach the doors. The lifts to the car park are at the North of the shopping centre. If you are entering at the courtyard level, for example from the Headrow, they are opposite the Radisson Blu Hotel. If you enter from Albion Street, you will be on the arcade level. Head all the way down towards the escalators and then around the restaurant on the right. It looks like it is just the entrance to the restaurant or a dead end, but there are two lifts at the end of it. They are also the lifts to take if you want to go down to the courtyard level from the arcade level and cannot take the stairs or escalators. There is no Braille on the outside of the lift, but there is some on the list of floors (not a lot) and the buttons inside the lift. There are short handrails on either the side of the buttons on the right side of the life and a long one and a mirror on the left side. The lift can take you to level 2 and 4 of the car park, but accessing the other parts requires taking the steps next to the ramps leading to the other levels. I did not feel safe taking the ramps in my wheelchair, as the visibility was not good and it was fairly busy. There are disabled parking bays on level 2 and 4. The payment machines are not easily accessible from a seated position. They do not take cash and the card terminal is quite high up, as is the screen.

Toilets

There are accessible toilets on the B level of The Light shopping centre, which you can get to with a separate lift from level A.

Staff

Photos