Designing for Disabled People in Home Zones

7.0 Findings Report

7.3 Questionnaire on General Issues and Experiences

The questionnaire on general issues and experience obtained participants' more generalised views about navigation and safety within the Home Zone. It also gained participants' suggestions for improvement and how participants thought the Home Zone compared to the traditional street environment.

7.3.1 Ease of Undertaking Navigation and Wayfinding

Participants were asked "How easy did you find undertaking the navigation task in the Home Zone?" Over two thirds said that the task was either very easy or easy (see Figure 7.1) while 30% thought it was either difficult or very difficult.

4 people (5%) indicated that they liked the freedom of movement that the Home Zone enabled, while 2 people (3%) made negative comments about using the shared surface. 6 people (8%) indicated that if they were more familiar with the area then they would find it easier to use, while 3 people (4%) mentioned that being unfamiliar with the area made it more difficult to navigate. 10 people (14%) indicated that they experienced problems with street furniture in the Home Zone and 4 (5%) were concerned about interacting with vehicles.

Figure 7.1: How easy did you find undertaking the navigation task in the Home Zone?

Figure 7.2: How easy did you find undertaking the navigation task in the Home Zone? - number of participants

Figure 7.3: How easy did you find undertaking the navigation task in the Home Zone? - percentage of participants

7.3.2 Problems Navigating a Route

Participants were asked "Did you have any problems with navigating along the route?" Over a third said that they had no problems navigating a route (see Figure 7.4), while over a half indicated that they experienced a few problems and just over 10% had many problems or too many problems.

4 people (5%) indicated that they were experiencing problems because they were unfamiliar with the site. 7 (10%) mentioned that the lack of a footway with a kerb was causing them problems navigating the route.

Figure 7.4: Did you have any problems with navigating along the route?

Figure 7.5: Did you have any problems with navigating along the route? - number of participants

Figure 7.6: Did you have any problems with navigating along the route? - percentage of participants

7.3.3 Ease of Navigating at Day or Night

Participants were asked "Do you think you would find any difference in ease of navigation in the day or at night?". 60% thought there would be a difference in ease of navigation in the day or at night (see Figure 7.7) while just under 30% thought there would be no difference.

19 people (26%) mentioned that better street lighting was needed to aid nighttime navigation. 3 people (4%) indicated that the reduction in colour contrast at night might reduce their ability to navigate and 12 people (16%) mentioned that they would be concerned about colliding with street furniture such as bollards at night, several participants suggested more illumination was needed.

Figure 7.7: Do you think you would find any difference in ease of navigation in the day or at night?

Figure 7.8: Do you think you would find any difference in ease of navigation in the day or at night? - number of participants

Figure 7.9: Do you think you would find any difference in ease of navigation in the day or at night? - percentage of participants

7.3.4 Perceptions of Safety

Participants were asked "How safe do you feel navigating around this area?" Over half of participants indicated that they felt either very safe or safe (see Figure 7.10), while just over a third felt either unsafe or very unsafe navigating around the Home Zones.

3 participants (4%) indicated that the reduced speed of vehicles enhanced their feelings of safety, while 6 participants (8%) mentioned that they felt unsafe because of the speed of vehicles. 9 people (12%) expressed concerns for their safety because of driver behaviour in the Home Zones. 11 (15%) made negative statements about their feelings of safety when using the shared surface and the lack of a footway with a kerb. 11 people (15%) also expressed concerns about avoiding vehicles in the Home Zone environment.

Figure 7.10: How safe do you feel navigating around this area?

Figure 7.11: How safe do you feel navigating around this area? - number of participants

Figure 7.12: How safe do you feel navigating around this area? - percentage of participants

7.3.5 Comparing Home Zones to Traditional Streets for Navigation

Participants were asked "Do you feel this Home Zone street environment is better or worse than a traditional residential street environment in terms of overall navigation?" Almost half of participants thought that the Home Zone environment was better than a traditional street for navigation (see Figure 7.13), while just over a third thought that it was worse and 19% did not know or refused to answer.

10 people (14%) mentioned that they liked using the shared surface in Home Zones because it improved their freedom of movement and meant that they didn't have to negotiate kerbs. However 7 people (10%) indicated that they did not like using non-delineated shared surface in Home Zones when compared to the traditional street environment.

Figure 7.13: Do you feel this Home Zone street environment is better or worse than a traditional residential street environment in terms of overall navigation?

Figure 7.14: Do you feel this Home Zone street environment is better or worse than a traditional residential street environment in terms of overall navigation? - number of participants

Figure 7.15: Do you feel this Home Zone street environment is better or worse than a traditional residential street environment in terms of overall navigation? - percentage of participants

7.3.6 Comparing Home Zones to Traditional Streets for Safety

Participants were asked "Do you feel this Home Zone street environment is better or worse than a traditional residential street environment in terms of overall safety?" Just over a third of participants thought that the Home Zone environment was better than a traditional street in terms of safety (see Figure 7.16), slightly more people (37%) thought that it was worse and 29% didn't know or refused to answer.

16 people (22%) indicated that they felt safer in Home Zones because of the reduced speed and volume of vehicles. However 5 people (7%) indicated that because of increased vehicle speeds they felt less safe in a Home Zone. 10 people (14%) expressed concerns about interacting with vehicles in the Home Zones and felt that this reduced their safety. 4 people (5%) felt that the lack of delineation meant that Home Zones were less safe than the traditional street environment.

Figure 7.16: Do you feel this Home Zone street environment is better or worse than a traditional residential street environment in terms of overall safety?

Figure 7.17: Do you feel this Home Zone street environment is better or worse than a traditional residential street environment in terms of overall safety? - number of participants

Figure 7.18: Do you feel this Home Zone street environment is better or worse than a traditional residential street environment in terms of overall safety? - percentage of participants

• Personal mobility
• Top of page