Conclusion:
The comparison of access of these two different groups in and around the CBD is on route 1 as on page 23, an abled bodied person had an easy route, there is a large traffic island crossing and side roads, not that many transport vehicles were along this area, going from East Croydon station is not difficult because there is a straight pavement with lots of pedestrians and only trams allowed along this area towards East Croydon station. The tram stops allows an abled bodied person to walk through easily and cross a few streets. Both people had to walk a similar route to each other.
A disabled person finds it fairly difficult because of a sloped crossing/traffic island and pedestrians in the way so a different route is taken to avoid all the humps and bumps on the pathway going towards Wellesley road, through Wellesley court road and Wellesley Grove. This pathway is much easier but takes longer and in turn you can avoid all the kerbs from East Croydon station and sloped areas on the station entrance and on George Street with many areas that are difficult to get through as proved on page 23.
On route 2 an abled person as on the other side of page 23, would find it incredibly easy to walk towards Croydon College with a few crossings/traffic islands, there is easy access to the destination. Plenty of crossing to do and pedestrians, as it is quite a distance away a near bus stop that should be taken as it is time consuming. There is a tram stop, going through Downe RD and cutting through Dingwall RD and straight across can get you to College RD which is quick and easy.
For a disabled person there are many kerbs on West Croydon station and College RD, crossings such as a traffic island or zebra crossing need to be taken for a quick access to destination so a quick route from Dingwall road is taken and humps and bumps are also located here to Col RD and College RD. From the station to Wellesley RD there are steep slopes which is difficult. There are tram routes towards destination, steep crossing on Wellesley RD. A longer route is taken which is slower to destination.
On route 3 an abled bodied person as referred to page 24 on the map, that they would find it easy towards Croydon Library although an easier route had to be taken by myself, there is a lot of crossing to do on zebra crossings, just towards High Street, despite this many different routes can be taken for the destination but only for an abled bodied person as it is quicker for them.
A disabled person would have to take a different longer route to the destination on pedestrians, no pathways but a route from Church Street towards Park Street, down George’s Fell RD and left towards the Library can take you there safely from the humps and bumps and high sloped areas on Surrey street, there is simply no space for a disabled person to pass through Surrey Street with pedestrians and kerbs, all this occupies space with difficult access of a disabled bodied person, this street has a high hill going towards High Street which is ever so difficult for the disabled person. Despite this going through High Street is also a problem that is why a different route has to be taken, kerbs, scaffolding going towards ‘Katherine Museum’ just opposite or on a retail shop on High Street which is obviously difficult for a disabled person with areas on High Street which are difficult to pass through especially kerbs and humps. Croydon is well catered for the disabled, these journeys that I have taken for the fieldwork are that trams some bus routes which I have investigated have facilities for prams and wheelchairs.
The access to services vary between these groups because these are two different groups of people, they travel very differently to their destination, such as a disabled person would travel in a wheelchair. The way a disabled person would use a different route from the abled bodied person, taking a longer easier route which would help the disabled person such as high slopes or kerbs that would be difficult for this wheelchair user. They cannot arrive at that destination just as an abled bodied person can, they may have to take a different route or take longer, it does depend on the route that has been taken, an abled bodied person would be quicker than this especially if an easier, accessible route is taken, a different route may have to be taken by the disabled person, the route may have a quicker access to the destination or they may be kerbs, high slopes on the route which results in taking a easy route that must be accessible to the destination, this is for the disabled person who needs to find the best way for them otherwise they will find it incredibly difficult to arrive at the destination, if one route has more kerbs than the other. This is proved on pages 23-24 when referred to.
Route 4- my own choice which was from West Croydon Station to East Croydon Station, this route was fairly easy, although a disabled person would find it difficult. I chose this route because different groups of people would normally use this route nearly everyday, this route is quite popular as commuters would travel from the bus station to East Croydon, by walking which is a popular route. This route tends to have many kerbs, which are located mostly on Wellesley Road and most of the travelling is on this road and these kerbs can be difficult for disabled people to travel, there are traffic islands from the side roads to Wellesley Road. Although there is easy access to East Croydon Station which is a subway that can only be used for abled bodied persons as their are steps here that a disabled person obviously cannot use. This subway takes you across the street on the other side of Wellesley Street which is located near the tram stop. This path is easier, quicker access for an abled bodied person. There are side roads and crossings on Wellesley Road that are safe, although there is no crossing to be accessible on the middle of this main road and is certainly not safe and there is a restriction to crossing. Disabled people cannot use the subway although, on the other side of Wellesley Road there are high slopes and tall kerbs which a disabled person obviously cannot get through. If a disabled person travelled on Wellesley Road then the disabled person would have to travel along steep slopes and cross along a non-safe street- a main road of Wellesley Road. As you cross there are many steep slopes that a disabled person would find difficult to travel along, when you arrive on George Street an abled bodied person would find it fairly easy to travel along this straight road which is slightly pedestrianised, although a disabled person would find slopes and a few kerbs but are not difficult at all. If a disabled person wanted to cross the street of Wellesley rd, they would have to travel. They have to travel along the whole road on kerbs, slopes etc and at the zebra crossing and traffic islands which also has steep slopes etc. There is a side road called Dingwall Road which has a kerb and a wheelchair user would find it difficult to get over it, especially the steps that are located at East Croydon Station, obviously a disabled person would find it difficult, there are high, steep slopes located at the front of East Croydon Station, which are easily accessible by disabled bodied person, everything at the entrance of East Croydon Station. Easy access for abled bodied persons, but for a disabled person, there are steps and slopes. This route has easy access for able bodied person as there is an easy access through the subway, alternatively there is not for a disabled person. I prefer this route because it is a route most commuters take or other groups of people, these people use this route everyday or to getting to places e.g.- workplace. A disabled person can use the steep slope on the entrance to East Croydon station easily, although this is fairly difficult because it is a steep slope.
Two chosen groups access Croydon’s CBD differently because a disabled person who would use a wheelchair to access services, although they would use a different route and access would vary, depending on the frequency of the route that they take, such as a wheelchair person would take a longer time/frequency to arrive at the destination, this obviously because a wheelchair would have to travel slower on the kerbs, ramps, slopes etc. Both these people they have different characteristics, as a disabled has to use a wheelchair or clutches etc, to get around, to travel to a destination, an abled bodied person would be abled to travel anywhere using any quick, accessible route of their choice.
To relate my findings to other groups of people is that people such as a person who is blind, they would be abled to find there way because they could be abled bodied, other groups such as a child would be that a child would find crossing harder but using a subway much easier. To relate my findings on other groups of people would be that some disabled people would find some routes that an abled bodied person would find easy because they may be used to travelling on roads, humps, kerbs and slopes etc.
The access to the CBD is not equal for all people because some parts such as bus routes are not accessible from some areas in which these people live, tram services are not always accessible, disabled people find some bus services hard to access and would need a special bus for them. The council could improve the better and fair access to services which is a development already in hand this year, and have mentioned a statement making sure our services meet the needs of local people and are accessible to all sections of the community, particularly those who need them most.
Evaluation:
To evaluate techniques used was when I investigated the test routes for chosen groups I travelled from the route to the destination, by doing this I decided on the fastest route between the two places, in pairs one of us imagined we were abled bodied and one person imagined they were in a wheelchair. We walked along the route and each person drew a sketchmap of the route they have taken. I had to remember a wheelchair will find steps impossible, kerbs difficult and some doorways too narrow and you may have to make a diversion and your map will be different to the abled bodied person and you may take longer to get there, which certainly occurred when I was obtaining my results. It was easy to draw the route we took because we knew the how to access and arrive to the destination even when using different access routes to the destination, it may have been done quicker or easier. At some times it was difficult to take on the route because the routes taken were either difficult to access and we had to find out how to access the destination more easily, this was especially with a disabled person because we are abled people that would access these services easily or even quicker using a shortcut route but a disabled person would be fairly different to access because of the problems that may occur on the road whilst on a wheelchair. I would improve this by slowly taking on the route of a disabled person and noting down the restrictions which would cause these disabled person problems when travelling the route given- it would not always be easily accessible as an abled bodied person would find it but would also take longer and definitely not easier- I would like to improve this technique to allow quicker access for the disabled person. Presenting these results on sketchmaps would be easy because you can compare the routes taken by both groups of people and look at how each different group travelled the route- compare access, this is referred to as on pages 23-24 where I have compared access and identified where access is difficult by both groups of people.
