Pedestrianisation and Disabled People: A study of personal mobility in Kingston town centre

ABSTRACT

In the post-war years in Britain pedestrianisation schemes have been widely introduced to provide traffic-free, safe, accessible and visitor-friendly shopping environments. The claims made for pedestrianisation as an 'enabling environment', however, need to be verified. This study addresses that issue. It draws on monitoring surveys of the phased pedestrianisation of the town centre in Kingston upon Thames to examine the mobility characteristics and movement patterns of disabled orange-badge holders, elderly disabled and elderly people, and evaluates group levels of satisfaction with changes in the urban environment and accessibility to premises. Important contrasts in mobility experience are identified. These relate, in measure, to health circumstances and degree of mobility impairment. Town centre redesign has clearly benefited the majority of users, although the needs of orange-badge holders for toilet facilities and seating were not fully met. Access to certain public and commercial buildings, however, still presents a problem for the mobility impaired. The study concludes that pedestrianisation represents a significant achievement in urban design: not just for those with special mobility needs, but also for society at large.