Blackwood Court Audit: Blackwood Court, Dundee
A5.165 On the 30 th August, 2005 at around 2pm, two researchers from Napier University met and escorted five residents from Blackwood Court on a journey from this residential home, by bus to the city centre and to Dundee rail station on foot. After a short break in the city centre for refreshments the return journey was undertaken using the same route.
A5.166 Blackwood Court is located in the west end of Dundee, close to the Ninewells Hospital and is approximately one mile from the city centre. Blackwood Court was opened in 1976 and contains a total of 70 properties (studio apartments, and one, two and three bedroom flats and apartments).
A5.167 All five participants have some form of mobility problems, although all use local bus services on a fairly regular basis. The group comprised;
A5.168 P1: a forty-five year old male who is registered blind and uses a 'white stick' when walking;
A5.169 P2: a sixty year old male, who suffered a severe brain trauma several years ago due to a head injury;
A5.170 P2 is totally deaf and experiences balance problems, which affect his walking abilities. When walking outdoors he uses a walking stick;
A5.171 P3: a forty five year old female who suffers from tunnel vision and acute arthritis, specifically in her ankle and leg joints;
A5.172 P4: a forty year old male, with a mild learning disability and epilepsy;
A5.173 P5: a sixty-five year old male, with a mild learning disability, epilepsy and who is recovering from cancer of the mouth.
Outward Journey
A5.174 To reach the bus stop on Dickson Avenue, participants must leave Blackwood Court, cross over Glamis Road and walk along (via an island crossing) to Dickson Avenue (see Fig A5.36). Participants then made a short bus journey (approx. 10 mins) to the city centre, alighting on High Street.
Engineering summary
A5.175 The pavement condition was a mixture of tarmac and conventional paving slabs. In several parts paving slabs were loose and cracked and parts of the tarmac areas uneven (see Fig A5.37 and A5.38). A new bus stop has been installed on Dickson Avenue (8 months previously- see Fig A5.40). The ground works had yet to be completed and the immediate area (where the old bus stop was) is in very poor condition.
A5.176 The crossing facility is relatively new (fitted 6 months previously) and good quality dropped kerbs and appropriate tactile paving are provided (see Fig A5.41). The pedestrian phase is activated after a delay of approximately 120 seconds and pedestrians are allowed 10 seconds to cross. Appropriate tactile paving and dropped kerbing is provided at both ends of the crossing.
Fig A5.36: Blackwood Court: local street area
User evaluation
A5.177 All five participants complained about the general condition of the pavement surface. Specific parts of Glamis Road were highlighted as particularly bad and "dangerous to walk on" (see Fig A5.37 and Fig A5.38).
Fig A5.37: Pavement area on Glamis Road (1)
A5.178 Three participants commented they had 'tripped' previously when walking on this section of pavement. Several participants did comment that the pavement surface was much harder to navigate when wet, or during winter due to snow and ice.
Fig. A5.38: Pavement section on Glamis Road (2)
A5.179 For P1 obstacles created the greatest hazard when walking to the bus stop. To prevent cars parking on the island crossing section, Dundee City Council had recently installed cycle racks on the pavement area (see Fig A5.39). This had alleviated the problem of parked cars, but created a greater hazard due to motorcycles parking. At the time of the site visit, a road maintenance sign had been left in the middle of the pavement area and no warning had been provided (see Fig A5.40).
Fig A5.39: Island crossing on Glamis road
Fig A5.40: Pavement area on Dickson Avenue leading to bus stop
Road crossing on Glamis Road
User evaluation
A5.180 All participants appeared happy with the crossing facility on Glamis Road. Two participants commented that the crossing was relatively new and 'much improved' from the previous facility.
Fig A5.41: Road crossing on Glamis Road
Traffic conditions
A5.181 Three participants commented on the speed and volume of traffic (on Glamis Road) at certain times and stated they felt a bit unsafe both when walking generally and when using the crossing facility. For two participants (P1 and P2) heavy traffic flows affected their abilities to hear the crossing signals and increased their safety concerns about using the crossing.
Bus stop assessment on Dickson Avenue
Engineering summary
A5.182 To reach the city centre participants must catch the number 22 bus, operated by Strathtay, which runs every 8 mins during weekday periods, with a reduced service at night and Sundays. No clearway or raised kerbs for boarding is provided at the bus stop. At the time of the visit the RTPI display was not in operation and no paper based information was provided.
User evaluation
A5.183 In general all participants commented that they felt safe when waiting at the bus stop. The main concern was the provision of seats in the bus shelter. Two participants commented on the positioning of the seats in the bus shelter which are facing the wrong way and prevent them from seeing oncoming buses. Two other participants commented that they could not physically sit down on the seats, which in some situations made the wait for the bus 'quite tiring' for them.
Fig A5.42: Bus stop on Dickson Avenue
A5.184 Three participants commented on the lack of information provided and indicated that no paper based timetable had been provided over the last 4-6 months.
Fig A5.43: No paper based information at bus stop
Bus journey to city centre
A5.185 After waiting approximately 5 minutes a bus (No. 22 operated by Strathtay) pulled up. The driver pulled the bus up relatively close to the kerb, although the entrance to the bus was obstructed by the service information pole (see Fig A5.44). This meant that all participants had to negotiate the bus stop information pole to board the bus. Several participants commented that this occurred on a regular basis and questioned 'why do they do this', 'it makes it twice as hard to get on to the bus'. The driver did not 'kneel' the bus and participants were required to physically pull themselves onto the bus using the handrails on the external doors.
Fig A5.44: Participant 3 boarding bus at Dickson Avenue bus stop
Bus journey to city centre
A5.186 A soon as the last member of the group had entered the bus, the driver pulled away, which left three participants stranded in the aisle area.
A5.187 Later discussion with participants revealed this to be the biggest problem they encountered when using local bus services and which happened on a frequent basis. P3 mentioned she had fallen down in the past due to driver pulling away before she had managed to find a seat and sit safely and P5 noted that "you have to grab the nearest thing and just hang on".
Walk to rail station
A5.188 The route from the city to the rail station is relatively short (about 500m) although it entails two road crossings. After alighting from the bus participants must walk along High street, cross over to Crichton street walk along Whitehall Crescent and cross Riverside Drive, to access the rail station.
Engineering summary
A5.189 In general the pavement areas within this section of the city centre were in good condition, although in a few places they were uneven and slabs were uneven and loose (see Fig A5.45 and A5.46). No crossing facility is provided at the junction of High Street/Critchton Street and participants were forced to wait for a gap in traffic in order to cross. A crossing facility is provided further down the street, although it would involve participants travelling an extra 300m.
Fig A5.45: Pavement/road area on High Street/Crichton Street junction crossing point
User evaluation
A5.190 Several participants commented that this 'unevenness' made it painful and very uncomfortable for them to walk along this section of the city centre. Two participants stated they had fallen previously in the immediate pavement area around the High Street area.
Fig A5.46: Pavement area on High Street
A5.191 A further problem for P1 concerned the presence of gulleys set into the pavement areas. This caused his cane to 'get stuck' and recoil back into his body and was described as an unpleasant and painful experience.
Fig A5.47: Pavement area on Crichton Street
Route leading to Dundee Rail station
A5.192 To reach the main entrance to Dundee rail station, participants must cross over Riverside Drive (A991) and walk approximately 50 metres to the main entrance.
Engineering summary
A5.193 The route leading into Dundee rail station is undergoing major refurbishment. The quality of pavement area currently is variable, a mixture of tarmac, gravel and concrete. The surface was observed to be very poor in several sections. Numerous obstacles (plastic bollards, road work signs etc.) are scattered throughout this area. To access the rail station participants must cross Riverside Drive. At the first crossing point no crossing facility is provided and participants were required to wait for gaps in traffic to allow them to cross (see Fig A5.48). At the second crossing point a new pedestrian crossing had recently been installed. The pedestrian phase is activated after a delay of approximately 180 seconds and pedestrians allowed 15 seconds to cross the road way. At the time of the visit no audible signal was provided, although a visible crossing signal was displayed (See Fig A5.49).
User evaluation
A5.194 Three participants expressed safety concerns over the 'unsignalised' crossing point of Riverside Drive and commented on the high levels of traffic using this section of road.
A5.195 Several participants complained about the unevenness of the walking area into the rail station which made them feel a 'bit' unsafe and was also described as painful to walk on.
A5.196 P1 who makes this trip once per week commented that the contractors keep changing everything around, putting up new fences, signs and other obstructions, which made his journey much harder than usual. He recounted a similar journey he made the previous week when he had fallen over one of the small directional information A-board signs.
Fig A5.48 : Crossing point on Riverside Drive
Fig A5.49 : Crossing point on Riverside Drive (exiting rail station)
Fig A5.50: Walk into rail station
Fig A5.51: Surface area leading to rail station
Return journey to bus stop on Union Street
A5.197 In order to make the return bus journey participants must exit the rail station, cross over Riverside and walk up to Union Street to the bus stop (approx 50m)
Engineering summary
A5.198 The pavement surfaces on Union Street were in good condition and no cracked/loose slabs were observed (see Fig A5.52). The bus stop on Union Street provides adequate protection from the elements and more than the recommended access and waiting space. The RTPI display was in operation and paper based timetable information provided. No clearway was present, nor was there a raised kerb to facilitate passenger boarding. After a wait of about 5 minutes the number 22 bus pulled up adjacent to the kerb, although the driver did not kneel the bus or lower the ramp.
Fig A5.52: pavement area on Union Street leading to bus stop
User evaluation
A5.199 Again comments were made about both the positioning and accessibility of seats provided. The seats were described as too narrow and too high by several participants, which prevented them from making use of this facility.
A5.200 P3 commented on the 'new' bus stops throughout Dundee as "nice to look at but not very practical to use".
Fig A5.53: Bus stop on Union Street
Bus journey to Blackwood Court
A5.201 All participants were given sufficient time to reach the seats before the bus left. Upon arrival at Glamis Road (destination stop) the driver pulled up approximately 0.2 metres from the kerb, although he failed to lower the bus to assist participants to alight (see Fig A5.54). Participants followed the same route (described earlier, although reversed) to return to Blackwood Court.
User evaluation
A5.202 No participant expressed any concerns over the return bus journey, or walk back to Blackwood Court.
Fig A5.54: Participants alighting at bus stop on Glamis Road
Focus group
A5.203 Upon return to Blackwood Court a short prearranged focus group discussion was held with three residents of Blackwood Court to discuss their experiences of using public transport within Dundee. The group was comprised of:
A5.204 P6: Female aged 55 in an electronic wheelchair
A5.205 P7: Female aged 48 in an electronic wheelchair
A5.206 P8: Male aged 32 in a manual wheelchair
A5.207 P6 and P7 did not use buses at all, although had used them in the past. P3 used local buses approximately two to four times per week to and from the city centre, although was always accompanied by his carer.
A5.208 The main reasons cited by P's 6 and 7 for not using buses were difficulties boarding or alighting buses, even when ramps were deployed. P6 commented that for her "it is potentially dangerous trying to get on and off buses in my electric wheelchair" and P7 "some drivers will help, but a lot won't, which means taking the risk that the next bus has a helpful driver on". Both participants recounted instances in the past where they had asked drivers if they could deploy ramps and were told they (the drivers) were not qualified (have not been trained) to lower ramps. Some of Dundee buses are fitted with automatic ramps, although all in many instances it appeared that they were not working at the times when participants had attempted to use buses previously. Even when ramps were deployed and buses tilted all three participants commented that they would not be able to access buses unaided and would have to rely on assistance from their carers. For P's 7 and 8, this limited their ability to "there is a lot of places I would like to go to, but cannot unless I can persuade someone to come with me" and "it certainly limits my social life"
A5.209 A second problem that affected all three participants concerned wheelchair spaces being occupied by other passengers. In most instances the wheelchair space was occupied by parents/carers with children in buggies, although sometimes other passengers. All participants commented that in their experience drivers had never asked passengers to vacate the designated wheelchair space, and had been told by the driver to wait for the next bus. This could result in lengthy delays for participants if several consecutive buses arrived and wheelchair spaces were occupied.
A5.210 A third problem related to concerns manoeuvring wheelchairs into wheelchair spaces once on board buses. The problem was particular relevant to the two participants in electronic wheelchairs, which were slightly larger and harder to manoeuvre than manual chairs.
A5.211 All three participants commented that for most longish journeys they used taxis, in preference to local bus services, due to the problems highlighted above. P5 commented that taxis were more reliable and worth paying the extra cost and P7 stated 'at least I know I'll get there'.