Title

Research and development program for accessibility: "ELSA" 2003-2006

Authors

Riikka Kallio

Document Type

Conference Paper

Publication Date

2007

Subject Area

Location - Land planning, Mobility - Vision Impairment, Transport accessibility - Access to Information, Transport planning - Accessibility planning

Abstract

The Ministry of Transport and Communications of Finland published the Accessibility Strategy "Towards Accessible Transport" in August 2003. ELSA is a three-year research and development programme that was launched to support the implementation of the accessibility strategy. The goal of the ELSA programme was to increase awareness in the municipal sector and among transport service providers, authorities and the general public of the importance of accessibility. It aimed to promote the introduction of accessibility in daily work, and to produce and disseminate information about good practices. The focus of the programme was especially on the accessibility of public transport and pedestrian environments. The ELSA programme consisted of five main elements: * Research and development projects (30 projects) * A network for accessible municipalities * The ELSA academic master’s theses (3 theses) * Working group on education and cooperation * Information The ELSA programme has partly or completely funded 30 research and development projects. The subjects of the projects have approached accessibility from an extensive range of perspectives. Accessible public transport travel chains, supporting accessibility work in municipalities and product development for public transport and public areas have played an important role in the programme. A network for Accessible Municipalities has 38 member municipalities from all parts of Finland. The network disseminated information on good solutions, functional practices and encouraging examples of accessible transport. The aim was to network similar municipalities and encourage them to set up joint projects. The ELSA master’s theses discussed the following themes: * Accessible and easy information on public transport services. * The impact of a changed traffic environment on elderly people’s driving ability. * Accessibility in land-use planning processes. The working group on education and cooperation was asked to examine how to improve the service skills and attitudes of staff within the passenger transport industry. The group also put some effort into the basic education of designers, i.e. architects and city and traffic planners, although the primary focus was on creating practical education material for the immediate improvement of skills and attitudes of transport industry staff. The ELSA programme had diverse effects of various extents. The programme contributed to both the strategic and programme levels and produced new guidelines, planning methods, services and products for practical planning, construction and customer service. The ELSA working group concludes that enhancing accessibility is an important focus area of increasing equality. Altering existing working methods is important in enhancing accessibility, and this should be influenced both through education and information as well as obligations and financial incentives.