Wheelchair pedestrians assert participation and normality but compensate more for mobility barriers

Abstract

Wheelchair pedestrians have long been known to be a vulnerable road user group. Existing traffic policies and research typically address their needs from a functional or practical perspective. In contrast, this study applied an inclusive design and justice perspective to understand the lived experiences of wheelchair pedestrians in traffic situations, and to elicit their needs, preferences, and meanings. We conducted semi-structured one-on-one interviews with 11 wheelchair pedestrians and go-along observations with six of them at an unsignalized crossing in the Netherlands. For the Dutch urban context, our results confirm previously found travel experiences, such as planning ahead, coping with crowdedness, being extra vigilant, taking detours when facing obstacles, and avoiding crowded situations. We also found that participants preferred clear traffic situations: good visibility from a low vantage point, other traffic users adhering to traffic rules, and clarity of who can use which path. Our study adds new insights that could improve road and transport design (processes). These insights include their assertion of participation and normality, and their strategies to manage extra challenges, such as difficulties in controlling speed (too slow/too fast), risks of getting trapped due to their physicality, and their ensuing extra compensation behaviour. These issues call for new requirements and solutions to be designed and evaluated through real-world and simulated participatory systemic processes in road and transport design, to support equity and safety.