problems. They may trip on them, or may have great difficulty in actually getting onto the pavement. The sizes of the bus stops are very good and they are very close to the main shopping centre. There are resting places all around the bus stops and plenty of shelter from rain and other bad weather.
For the blind, steps, kerbs, crowds and condition of pavement is very difficult to work with. There is not much space and when buses come in and lots of people get on them the blind would get knocked and shoved. The condition of the pavements is very bad and even people who can see could trip up because it is uneven, so this would be very difficult for a blind person.
Independent wheelchair users may have problems with the lack of space and uneven surfaces. On the whole not too many problem, apart from the buses themselves which only very few have wheelchair access and a place to park a wheelchair inside them.
Toilets- The toilets were not very good. They were very small and there are sometimes queues of people waiting to use a toilet especially on Saturday mornings when many people come from outside Guildford to do shopping. The Disabled toilets were locked when we went and if a disabled person wanted to use the toilets then they had to go and ask for a key to use them. This is not fair to disabled people because if they were desperate for the toilet then they would be forced to use the normal toilets as it would take to long to go and get the key, also after the person has used the toilet they would then have to go and give the key back which would take more time.
Food area- The food area was very good for all groups of people. The only problem could be crowds at lunchtime but apart from that it is very spacious and has no kerbs, slopes or uneven surfaces.
Main Road- The main road was in very poor condition. Most of the road and pavements are cobbled which means that the three groups of people we looked at may have difficulty in getting around on such a bad surface. There are lots of kerbs and slopes and the actual road itself is on a very steep hill. However there is resting places every 50m, this is very helpful for the frail and elderly.
HSBC Bank- The bank was
very good in all the categories, apart from parking for wheelchairs where there was not enough space. It was close to the main shopping centre and had cash points outside, the surfaces were even and there were no slopes or difficult kerbs.
Library- The library was excellent for access, there was a slope and steps to get into it, the surfaces were even and carpeted with no slopes indoors, and there was also parking outside and lots of space for wheelchairs.
Church- The church was quite good for access there was lots of room and it was close to the main shopping centre. But the pavements were uneven with lots of slopes and bumps. There was not much parking and no resting places outside.
Alton
We looked at different services and there accessibility in Alton as well. We looked at the services for the same three groups of people and rated them the same as in Guildford.
Sainsbury’s – Sainsbury’s is excellent apart from two problems. There are no places to rest, apart form one small bench. The crowds can also be quite difficult for the blind, especially when the shop opens and after three o’clock.
Library- The size and distance from the town is ok, but it could be closer as people towards the butt’s end of town may have to travel quite far.
The pavement was in very poor condition and there were lots of bumps and slopes. However there was a ramp and plenty of room.
Main Street- The main street is very good since it has been redone, there are no kerbs and the pavement is even with no bumps and slopes. The only problem is resting places for the Frail and Elderly.
Post Office- The post office is very good for pavement condition and it has a slope instead of steps. However it is very small and crowds are a problem, inside there is very little space for wheelchairs. It is in the town centre and easy accessed by people living in the town.
Toilets- The toilets in the town are very bad, they have a poor uneven surface and are very difficult to be accessed by wheelchair users and some do not have disabled toilets. There are also not enough of them with only three toilets in Woolworth’s car park and a few more in the public gardens. In addition, the toilets are locked at the early time of 7pm, which means that after that time there is nowhere to use the toilet.
Park- The park does not really have any problems it has resting places, it is close to the town centre and there is plenty of space and there are no kerbs and slopes.
Barclays Bank- Barclays bank is also very good apart from wheelchair access and the lack of space inside.
Conclusion
From all this evidence, I have decided that the hypothesis is true to a certain extent. Most services are easily accessed by all groups of people but a few are difficult to use for groups like the frail and elderly, the blind and wheelchair users. Most services try to ensure easy access but it is an ongoing project to make improvements for all groups of people, it is working, but the main problem is money and time to make these improvements.
Second Hypothesis
Our second hypothesis is: “ Different services offer equal accessibility”
I am going to add up the scores for different services from Alton and Guildford and see which scored best to see if this hypothesis is true or false.
This is the graph for the services in Alton and the total is = 292
This is a graph for Guilford services and the total is = 280
From my graphs, it shows that Alton is the better for access to all services. However, from people in Guildford and Alton a different story is shown. All people in Guildford were very happy with the shopping facilities the only problem being that some services are too expensive.
They also said they had no problem in accessing shops and all of them were very close and convenient. Nevertheless, in Alton there were many complaints about the shopping facilities especially. Many people said they had to go out of town to actually get things they wanted, they also said there were too many charity shops. Non- motorists said there is not enough public transport and what is there is far too expensive. There were also complaints about the toilets, there are not enough, they are too small, not close to where you need them and shut too early.
Conclusion
I think that this hypothesis is true as well but not completely. From the services we looked at Alton was better for accessibility; this could be because it is a smaller town so the services can be worked on because there is less of them. However, because there is less of them this makes people want to shop out of town in places like Guilford because they cannot purchase the items they want or need.
Evaluation
I think my coursework has gone well and I have enjoyed doing it. I was very surprised by the amount of information we got on trip to Guildford and Alton; people were very helpful and did not mind telling us what the thought. I also have never looked at Alton so critically and I have found many small problems that wont affect me but mean that other people cant use the services I can. Fortunately this I quite rare but some services do not consider all groups of people.
I think that my work could have been improved by looking at more services and more areas, I could have also asked more people from different groups to get a better idea of different peoples opinions. I could have asked people during the week and then at the weekend to get different peoples views, which may have been at work during the week.
