The Living Streets charity has revealed their findings on bus stops and continuous footways to a wider audience in hopes to set in motion a bigger discussion about inclusivity. The scope of this project was to address the broad question about inclusivity of street designs in Scotland. In the result, two versions of the study have been published: “Inclusive design at continuous footways” (October 2023) and “Inclusive design at bus stops with cycle tracks” (March 2024).

The charity has carried out a detailed-study site work across Scotland, England and Wales, breaking down the infrastructure into “complex environment” and “simple environment”. Categorising streets this way helped to thoroughly observe the overall footfall as well as pedestrian behaviour. For every investigation, the approach was standardised and tailored to correspond with busier or quieter sites, allowing for more accurate results. Video footage was also used for prolonged periods of time up to 3 days to observe such details as whether pedestrians turned their heads before crossing, changed their speed, and which routes they took through the site.

Both versions conclude that good communication between disabled groups and designers is important for increasing the quality of street inclusivity. In particular, one report acknowledges that some organisations representing disabled people may pursue the same goals but are divided in how to achieve them. The second report agrees on this and calls for bringing all groups together to make adjustments based “on equalities grounds”. As of now, there is an evident lack of connection between existing designs and needs of disabled people.

To continue reading the full report for a detailed analysis with graphs and images, please follow the link: www.livingstreets.org.uk/inclusivedesign