Senior man with a disability

Results published this week of a substantial inquiry looking into the experience of pedestrians with disabilities using U.K. streets have found that 40% of them consider the nation’s thoroughfares to be inaccessible.

The findings have emerged from a six-month-long Disabled Citizens Inquiry jointly undertaken by the country’s largest sustainable mobility charity Sustrans and the Disabled Person’s Organization Transport for All.

Survey data was drawn from some 1,100 respondents with a range of disabilities and collated by the leading polling organization Ipsos.

Unsurprisingly, those disability segments most affected by poor street and road accessibility were those with mobility impairments, including wheelchair users, and individuals with learning disabilities – where the figure rose to a majority of 55% of respondents.

These experiences are set against a backdrop of a country engulfed in a cost of living crisis during which 59% of respondents reported having to reduce their travel and 52% affirming that rising costs are now affecting their capacity to undertake essential journeys such as attending healthcare appointments.

The report’s authors conclude that the factors detailed above have all contributed to a “transport accessibility gap” signified by disabled people making 38% fewer journeys across all modes of transport than their non-disabled peers.

In relation to both wheeling and walking along the sidewalk, the most common complaints amongst pedestrians with disabilities related to a paucity of drop curbs, uneven surfaces and steep slopes as well as seasonal barriers such as ice and overgrown vegetation.

For those wheeling on wheelchairs or electric mobility scooters – it is inaccurate to assume that inaccessible streets pose just a one-dimensional problem necessitating simple rerouting to fix the problem.

In real life, inaccessibility is rarely as absolute as this and quite often, wheelchair or mobility scooter users will attempt to navigate uneven surfaces where possible – for the sake of being able to get on with their day.

The worst-case scenario here would be tipping out of the mobility device, potentially leading to serious injury and further reduced mobility in the long term.

A more common occurrence is simply increased all-round fatigue for the rider. What most non-disabled people don’t appreciate is that attempting to steady an electronic mobility device on an uneven surface is extremely tiring – particularly for an individual whose physical capacity is somewhat limited to start with.

This takes the pleasure out of community mobility and can result in those who are part-time mobility device users arriving at their destination exhausted and with reduced lower limb strength and mobility than they otherwise might have had.

This research does a fine job of identifying that barriers to community mobility not only relate to physical infrastructure but negative attitudes from members of the public too.

One-third of respondents said they feared derogatory comments from others related to their physical or mental health condition when out walking and wheeling.

This will resonate with many disabled pedestrians who regularly avoid going out at certain times of day in English towns and cities for fear of what they may face. These can include mid-afternoon on weekdays when teenagers are independently returning from school in groups and late evenings when bars are closing and people are pouring out into the streets after consuming alcohol.

Moving forwards, Sustrans would like to see new laws prohibiting parking on the pavement, the creation of a long-term dedicated fund to improve pavements and local authorities committing to better provision of community services and amenities within walking and wheeling distance.

The latter should also help address issues around inaccessible public transport and the lower rate of automobile ownership amongst people with disabilities.

Commenting on the research, Xavier Brice, CEO of Sustrans said: “Our report clearly demonstrates that understanding the barriers disabled people experience getting around their neighborhoods is imperative in creating an equitable society.

“Putting disabled people at the center of discussions about how we plan and create spaces where we can all move around easily and safely is vital. The U.K. government must listen and take action to create places planned around people, not cars."

With community mobility for disabled pedestrians so much more nuanced than those without the lived experience might imagine – the government, local authorities and the public at large would do well to pause to imagine what it truly means to walk in another’s shoes or wheel on their tires.