PEDESTRIANISATION AND DISABLED PEOPLE - A STUDY OF PERSONAL MOBILITY IN KINGSTON TOWN CENTER

In the post-war years in Britain pedestrianisation schemes have been w idely 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 pe destrianisation 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 grou p levels of satisfaction with changes in the urban environment and acc essibility to premises. Important contrasts in mobility experience are identified These relate, in measure, to health circumstances and degr ee 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 pu blic and commercial buildings, however, still presents a problem for t he mobility impaired. The study concludes that pedestrianisation repre sents a significant achievement in urban design: not just for those wi th special mobility needs, but also for society at large.