Introduction

General

This report documents the process and findings of the Inclusive Kerbs Phase 3 research project. The project was commissioned by Transport Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Road Research Board (SRRB) and the Department for Transport (DfT) and was conducted by Mott MacDonald and Edinburgh Napier University’s Transport Research Institute.

The study has been designed to be as robust and rigorous as possible within project constraints to stand up to scrutiny and challenge. To achieve this, the project has used the latest available data to determine the proportions of the general population with functional impairment. This will inform future studies on sample sizes to represent the Scottish population when sampling functional disabilities.

To better serve the end user of any proposed kerb guidance, the project has a strong focus on the personal experiences of the roadside users with functional impairments. Utilising the analysed population data, the project recruited a small number of interview participants from the highest impairment severity category to assist in online pilot interviews (Phase 2). This initial feedback was used to assist in the method development for the site-based interviews (Phase 3) and future stages of this study (Phase 4).

The project surveyed a range of existing kerbs in different locations collecting data on a range of attributes on kerb properties and its setting. The data gathered was then used in the Phase 2 online interviews and allowed limited associations to be made between experiences of kerb interactions and kerb design. These associations have then been further defined during this Phase 3 study to allow more definitive conclusions to be reached with regard to the issues faced by functionally impaired users and provide clarity on what further actions will need to be undertaken during laboratory-based testing in Phase 4.

Scope and Objectives

Phase 1 of the study completed a literature review and recommended that a second phase be conducted looking at kerb boundaries between footways and carriageways, footways and cycle tracks, and cycle tracks and carriageways.

Phase 2 of the study examined the interfaces identified in Phase 1 and how users interacted with them. It gathered necessary data, from online interviews with functionally impaired volunteers using a trial methodology to form a basis for recommending future studies on inclusive road design. The interviews considered the whole setting and use of the kerb for navigation parallel along a street and as a point of uncontrolled crossing.

This Phase 3 of the study extends to the collection of data from people with moderate to mild impairments. This was done through site-based interviews with functionally impaired volunteer participants to three of the sites identified as most appropriate from Phase 2 of the study. Data was gathered using on site interviews and was compared and analysed using conventional qualitative research techniques (Neville Stanton, 2021) (J Goodman-Deane, 2010) (Flick, 2018) to identify key themes and patterns arising from participant experiences. This data was then assessed in order to form conclusions on existing holistic kerb conditions and the difficulties encountered by each of the participants. These were used to form a realistic baseline and provide further clarifications on what needs to be prepared as part of the laboratory research in Phase 4 to identify potentially suitable kerb height ranges for the purposes of inclusive design.

Methodology Overview

The project methodology is explained in greater detail throughout the report with specific focus in Section 2.

Phase 2 of the study involved assessment of twenty-six locations across the City of Edinburgh. Five of these sites were taken forward to online interviews with volunteer participants grouped by impairment and severity of impairment. The outcomes of this phase of the study were used to inform the sites to be utilised in Phase 3 as well as the interview questions used to obtain the required qualitative results and how these results were to be coded and assessed.

For Phase 3 of the study eleven participants were utilised for the purposes of the online interviews. Then five volunteer participants were available to participate in the site visits of the study.

During Phase 3 of this study three out of the twenty-six sites surveyed during Phase 2 were taken forward for use in this site visit element of the research. The chosen sites were considered to be the most representative examples that would provide the necessary qualitative and quantitative outcomes to provide suitable conclusions for this stage of the study as well as help inform and refine the methodology for the laboratory assessments to be undertaken during Phase 4 of this research.

The information gathered from these site visits was compared against the information gathered during the Phase 3 online interviews as well as the data gathered on the kerbs and locations to determine associations.

All work was conducted to Edinburgh Napier University integrity, ethical and data management standards.

Report Structure

This report has been structured in such a way as to provide the reader with the methodology used during this phase of the study as well as the background of how this method was developed and the intended outcomes. After this has been clarified the report goes on to provide the details of, and the data gathered from, the site-based interviews along with the analysis of that data. Finally, the report provides outline conclusions, recommendations for further work and closing remarks.

Section 2 of this report summarises the methodology used during Phase 2 of the study and assesses how successful it was in developing the desired outcomes, including the coding, required to provide conclusions and recommendations for further work. This section of the report will also relay to the reader how Phase 3 of the study was undertaken and how the methodology will provide the information required to provide conclusions and inform future study of kerb heights. It also outlines what sites were chosen to be taken forward from Phase 2 and why these sites were chosen. It then goes on to describe the sites and explain why they provide suitable outcomes to allow conclusions and further recommendations.

Section 3 of this report presents the results from the online interviews, broken down by the most prevalent and prominent coding of themes. It also provides the key outcomes that have been found from each participant and how this impacts our assessment of kerb heights both for this phase and going forward.

Section 4 of this report outlines the results from the site visits, broken down by most prevalent and prominent themes determined from the verbal commentary given by each participant. It also provides the key outcomes that have been found from each participant and how this impacts our assessment of kerb heights both for this phase and going forward.

Finally, Section 5 of this report provides a summary of the outcomes and conclusions from this phase of the study along with recommendations for the next phase.