Accessible journeys: a measuring tool

Transport planners and engineers are not new to counting pedestrians. But how many of them count the number of pedestrians using a mobility device? This information is very useful in understanding the importance of designing for accessibility. What’s needed is a measuring tool. A study carried out in New Zealand ran a pilot study for measuring pedestrians using mobility devices. The aim was to develop an appropriate measuring tool and survey template to help with transport planning. The New Zealand study by Bridget Doran (Burdett) was carried out in six sites. Twelve categories of aid were included in the count worksheet. Burdett acknowledges that this is not a measurement of disability per se, or an assessment of accessibility for a facility or for transport connections. However it proved to be a reliable tool which can be used more widely. The interview data were useful in gaining more detail about the complexities of being a pedestrian who uses a mobility device. The title of the article is, Measuring accessible journeys: A tool to enable participation, and is available from ResearchGate. It has more detail about the methods and applications for the tool in creating accessible journeys.

Abstract

This study set out to demonstrate the feasibility and usefulness of a series of pedestrian counts, including counting the subset of pedestrians who use visibly identifiable mobility aids. The resulting proportion of mobility aid users can then be used as a proxy measure of relative accessibility for each count site. The study acknowledges the diversity of disability, and the count is not intended to capture all people who identify as having disability of any kind. It was estimated from Statistics New Zealand data that approximately 3% of New Zealand’s adult population uses a mobility aid for travel at any particular time. This figure includes those identifying as having permanent disability, as well as an estimate to account for those not included in this figure, namely children, people who do not identify as having a disability but nevertheless use a mobility aid, and those with temporary disability requiring use of a mobility aid. The study identified opportunities to use the tool to remove gaps in the delivery of accessible transportation, across all parts of its system from policy and planning, through design, construction and monitoring. Its widespread promotion will support more objective measurement of inclusion, to inform best-practice infrastructure investment for all. Editor’s comment: The number of people using a mobility device relative to the population is not the issue in terms of designing accessible and inclusive places. However, for transport planners the tool brings to the fore the need to be accessible and inclusive. Below is Burdett’s earlier article on this topic. 

You get what you measure in transport

It’s often said you get what you measure, so if you don’t measure, what to do you get? We talk about inclusion and inclusive cities but how will we know if they are inclusive if we don’t measure it? Transportation is an important part of a functioning city. So inclusive and accessible transport systems are a must.  Bridget Doran’s article in Linked In discusses the issue in plain language. She points out that transport professionals measure lots of things to do with road safety. That’s because they can count the number of lives saved and accidents prevented. But “when it comes to accessibility though, we don’t measure any outcomes”.  Doran asked 175 transport planners and engineers what they thought would improve accessibility. As is often the case, the answers were about the responsibilities of others. Most often mentioned were political leadership and stronger legislation. Some thought that cost was preventing better accessibility, but overall, they couldn’t answer the question. Time to measure exclusion – who is not using transportation systems. The title of the article is, How will we know we have inclusive cities if we don’t measure anything? It’s a short version of her journal article, Inclusive Access in Transport Policy and Views of New Zealand Transport Practitioners. 

Key points

• • Transport professionals (N = 175) in Aotearoa/NZ completed a web survey.
  • Analyses suggest that inclusive access is a complex issue for transport professionals.
  • Perspectives varied on why it is not more prominent in transport policy, or why outcomes are not better for older and disabled people using transport.
  • Inclusive access is vaguely defined and poorly measured in transport.
  • Transport policy needs measures that link policy and design choices to outcomes.

See also Measure exclusion to get inclusive transport, also by Bridget Doran.