The Designing for Inclusion report, commissioned by Guide Dogs as part of their Streets Ahead campaign, makes a series of recommendations as to how widely used street designs can be made safer for disabled people. 

Most notably, the report recommends halting the installation of Shared Bus Stop Boarders until evidence is available on whether they can be developed safely, after the report condemned existing designs as ‘neither safe nor accessible’. 

The report likewise recommends that local communities (including disabled people) and professional specialists must be involved in the co-cultivation of pedestrian infrastructure. CIHT welcomes the report’s emphasis on co-cultivation, as meaningful engagement and representation from the inception of a project is key to achieving truly inclusive designs. More information about inclusive design is available in CIHT’s recent report, Creating a Public Realm for All. CIHT members can register their interest in a Creating a Public Realm for All E-Learning Course to learn more about this topic here.

The Designing for Inclusion report reveals that many disabled pedestrians experience elevated stress levels when encountering widely used active travel infrastructure designs such as Shared Bus Stop Boarders, Floating Island Bus Stops, Continuous Footways and Segregated Cycle-footways. Researchers found that these feelings of fear can lead to many people avoiding these spaces in everyday life, which can result in social isolation.

During the report’s launch event, disability advocate and guide dog owner Taylor Notcutt provided insights into her experience navigating these infrastructures in daily life, outlining a number of frightening near-misses with cyclists and cars.

Shared Boarder Bus Stop (Guide Dogs, 2024)

Further resources

Designing for Inclusion report

A copy of the CIHT report 'Creating a public realm for all' and supporting information is available here - https://www.ciht.org.uk/publicrealm