Development of a Street Corner Accessibility Survey Tool: A Progress Note
Christopher J. DeGroot, EIT and R. Lee Kirby, MD
Dalhousie University and Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 4K4
Background:
Accessibility to public spaces is a well-recognized facilitator of participation for people with disabilities, especially those who use wheelchairs for mobility. At road intersections, there should be a means to ease the transition from the elevated sidewalk to the road. The little evidence that exists suggests that only a small proportion of intersections meet all of the accessibility criteria they should.
Objective:
To develop a comprehensive street corner accessibility survey tool.
Methods:
We reviewed the existing English literature regarding accessibility guidelines and survey tools. We used the results of the literature search to draft a new corner accessibility survey tool, including a rulebook to provide definitions and to instruct users on how to use the tool. We pilot tested the tool on a sample of intersections in Halifax.
Results:
Pilot testing revealed that the administration of the tool was generally straight-forward, but that it was time-consuming, required a lot of bending and was potentially dangerous (due to road traffic). Also, we found a number of atypical curb ramps that posed problems.
Conclusions:
Although we have moved forward toward our goal of developing a comprehensive survey tool of street corner accessibility, especially from the perspective of content validity, there is further work to be done before we have a tool that is simple to administer and that has excellent measurement properties. Such a tool could be useful means of improving accessibility for wheelchair users.
KEYWORDS
Wheelchairs, accessibility, curb ramps, participation
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank Keri DeGroot for her assistance.
Author Contact Information:
R. Lee Kirby, Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, Nova Scotia Rehabilitation Centre Site, 1341 Summer Street, Halifax, NS, Canada B3H 4K4, Phone: 1 902-473-1268, E-mail: kirby@dal.ca.