Sociability Community
Clear The Kerb: Keep Pavements Accessible
#ClearTheKerb Keep pavements clear of clutter!
Blocked pavements, crossings and dropped kerbs create accessibility barriers for many Disabled people, making it difficult or unsafe to travel independently.
The Problem: How Dockless E-Bikes and E-Scooters Create Accessibility Barriers
Over the last ten years, if you have spent time in a city in the UK, you’ll probably have noticed e-bikes and e-scooters scattered around the streets and pavements. Much like the London Cycle Hire Scheme introduced in 2010, riders can pick up a bike to cycle and leave it at their destination.
However, the more recently introduced bikes do not require a docking station. This "free-floating" model can create significant accessibility barriers for Disabled people and others navigating the city when bikes are left blocking pavements and dropped kerbs.
How Poorly Parked E-Bikes and E-Scooters Create Barriers
Not everyone who hires these vehicles is a responsible or considerate rider. All too often, you’ll find poorly parked e-bikes and dockless scooters left blocking the pavement or obstructing a dropped kerb. This irresponsible parking creates a significant trip hazard and compromises pedestrian safety across our cities.
This can force people with mobility impairments, such as wheelchair users, to go into the road or prevent them from using a safe crossing entirely. Visually impaired people may not notice the obstructive bike and trip over it.
It’s not just a concern for the Disabled community, people with pushchairs, prams, or heavy luggage also struggle to negotiate these pavement obstructions. Often, it isn’t just individual riders at fault; operating companies frequently leave “swarms” of bikes taking up entire stretches of the footway. When poorly parked bikes are combined with street clutter like sandwich boards, roadworks signs, and café seating, our streets become increasingly inaccessible.
Join Sociability’s #ClearTheKerb Campaign
Bikes and scooters shouldn’t come at the expense of Disabled people and others who rely on clear, safe pavements.
Clear The Kerb aims to highlight this problem and encourage better parking behaviour from riders and operators alike.
Accessibility Hazard Stickers: Get Involved and Support Safer Streets
We have created a set of simple #ClearTheKerb stickers that can be placed on poorly parked bikes and e-scooters, or obstructive street furniture to raise awareness.
Our goal isn't to shame individuals, but to educate the public on the physical barriers these obstructions create for the community.
How to Get Clear The Kerb Stickers
Seasonal sticker drops
Three times a year we post out a limited number of free packs of stickers. First come, first served. Currently only available to UK addresses.
The Autumn drop is open. 1,000 packs available.
Each free pack contains 10 Accessibility Hazard ticket stickers. For the other designs, download them or order prints.
Download the designs and print them yourself
Free, instant, and no account needed. Download the full suite of designs. Print at home, or take the files to any printer you like, online or in-store.
Order prints from Sticker Mule
Choose from a range of sizes, materials and quantities, printed and posted to you.
You’ll need a free Sticker Mule account to order. Downloading doesn’t need one.
What size should I print them?
Don’t print them below 70mm on the longest edge. The QR code needs enough space to remain readable and may not scan reliably at smaller sizes.
Buying a lot? Stickers get much cheaper at volume. At a few hundred they come down to pennies each, so ordering as a group of friends, or with a community group or Disabled People’s Organisation, brings the cost down significantly.
Using the designs
The Clear the Kerb designs are free to use, print and share, anywhere in the world. Four things we’d ask in return.
Don’t change them.
A campaign about pavement access only wins while the message stays about pavement access.
Don’t sell them.
Recover your printing costs if you need to, but don’t make money from them.
Don’t use them to sell anything else.
No products, no services, no bundling them into something commercial.
Don’t imply we’ve endorsed you.
Using the designs doesn’t make your organisation a Sociability partner.
The five designs on this page are the only official #ClearTheKerb sticker designs. Anything that doesn’t match them didn’t come from us.
Want to translate or adapt them? Contact us at community@sociability.app — we’d like these to work in more places and we can help with that.
More about printing the stickers
Why we’ve done it this way
We want these stickers on as many blocked pavements as possible. Posting them out ourselves is slow, expensive and capped at whatever we can afford. Making the designs free to download isn’t — anyone can have them, anywhere in the world.
We make no money from this and cannot control the price Sticker Mule charges to print.
Where to put them
Please don’t put them on homes, businesses, cars, other motor vehicles or anyone’s mobility aid, or anywhere that creates a new hazard. You’re responsible for where you put them.
How do the seasonal drops work?
A limited number of packs each time, UK addresses only. One pack per person. When they’re gone, they’re gone until the next drop.
The waiting list is open all year. Join whenever and we’ll email you when the next drop opens. We won’t pass your details to anyone else, and you can unsubscribe from any email.
Stickers are for personal use, not for resale and Sociability is not responsible for how recipients choose to use them. Sociability reserves the right to decline requests at its discretion. The #ClearTheKerb name, logo and designs remain the property of Sociability.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are blocked pavements an accessibility issue?
Blocked pavements and dropped kerbs create barriers for many Disabled people, including wheelchair and mobility scooter users, Blind and partially sighted people, and people using walking aids. Poorly parked e-bikes, e-scooters and street furniture can obstruct routes, create trip hazards, prevent access to crossings and force people into unsafe situations.
Clear, unobstructed pavements are essential for safe, independent travel and benefit everyone.
How can I report a poorly parked e-bike or e-scooter?
Many shared e-bike and e-scooter operators provide a way to report incorrectly parked vehicles through their apps or websites. You can also contact your local council about persistent pavement obstructions.
Can I download #ClearTheKerb stickers for free?
Yes! Sociability’s official #ClearTheKerb sticker designs are free to download and print. You can print them at home or use a professional printing service, provided you follow the campaign’s usage guidelines.