Office of the Chief Accessibility Officer/ Bureau de la dirigeante principale de l'accessibilité’s Post

You may think Doncaster isn’t the place for forward thinking technology or inclusion, but this simple act of inclusion did several very important things for me: 1️⃣ Made me think more favourably about Network Rail for intentionally investing in smart technology to amplify their inclusive objectives (brand reputation) 2️⃣ Encouraged me to further research the business to see what other initiatives it had done regarding inclusion (company research)* 3️⃣ Further educated me (example of great leadership) on ways to consider inclusive design in public spaces. Network Rail has an Access For All Programme, with funding of circa £350m, to rectify train stations that were predominantly built in the Victorian era. These upgrades include lifts that are automatic and give an audible tone when the doors open and close; staircases and platform edges that have tactile warning surfaces; new ramps and footbridges with lowered handrails; open entrances and new ticket gates and accessible waiting rooms and toilets. 4️⃣ Gave me a positive, in a morning full of train cancellations and delays! Your organisation’s investment into inclusion has a far wider reaching impact than you will ever know. Also, good things come out of Doncaster like the Mallard steam train, the Flying Scotsman, Paddington Bear, Tish, a 43-year old goldfish, One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson, and of course, the legendary Lucy Jeynes! #InclusiveDesign #Accessibility #ChooChooseInclusion *A Network Rail press release from April 2023 confirmed it had introduced British Sign Language travel advice on touchscreens in some of Britain’s busiest stations: “Sign Language interpreters have created a library of standard messaging as part of the screen software which can be seen instantly. But the main selling point is that a team of interpreters are on standby to make bespoke signed information as situations evolve or during periods of unexpected disruption. Within an hour messaging can be turned into British Sign Language and the videos uploaded directly to the screens using 4G technology.”

The EAA is on it's way, and there are no quick fixes. Accessibility needs to be embedded in your digital strategy, not just for compliance with new laws, but because accessibility has such a positive impact on peoples lives.

A super interesting morning at the Transport Brief by Dublin City Council. Big changes are expected in the city centre over the next 5 years, including reducing car trips, enhancing public tranport and pedestrians’ infrastructure. However, DCC understands the improtance of going step-by-step, through comprehensive public and stakeholders consultations. #Dublincitycouncil #kpmg #mobility

⚡ "The electric future is already here: it’s just not equitably distributed yet," notes Cat Plein, Forth's Development and Communications Director at the round table with the Bicameral Electrification Caucus. Convenings like these are critical to making e-mobility more accessible and more equitable. Extra points for those who recognize the riff on William Gibson's quote: “The future is already here – it’s just not very evenly distributed.” #emobility #electrification #transportation

You can now watch the TRA 2024 Opening & Closing Sessions on our website, as well as the Vision Awards. More sessions will be added to the website over the next couple of weeks. You can view them all here: https://loom.ly/T-sXpok ACARE (Advisory Council for Aviation Research and Innovation in Europe), ALICE, ALICE, Alliance for Logistics Innovation through Collaboration in Europe (ETP LOGISTICS), CINEA - European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency, Conference of European Directors of Roads (CEDR), Department of Transport, Enterprise Ireland, ERTRAC - European Road Transport Research Advisory Council, European Commission, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, WaterborneTP, Conference Partners International, IDA Ireland, Road Safety Authority, Dublin Bus (Bus Átha Cliath) #TransportSafety #EUResearch #HorizonEU #PassengerSafety #Sustainability #SmartMobility #SafetySystems #Research #MobilityAction #InclusiveMobility #InclusiveTransport #SustainableTransport #EUTransportResearch #Innovation

🌿✈️ The city of Boulder, CO, is taking a stand against aviation noise and environmental impact by suing the FAA to close its airport and reclaim the land for affordable housing. QC advisor and program chair Dr. Arline L. Bronzaft shares insights on this significant lawsuit and its potential implications for cities across the U.S. Key points: • Boulder accepted FAA funding to keep the airport open for 20 years. • The city stopped accepting grants and claims it can close the airport after 2040. • The FAA argues the city must keep the airport open indefinitely. • Residents are divided between the benefits of the airport and the need for housing. How do you think this lawsuit will impact other cities? Share your thoughts below! 🔗 Read more on our blog: https://ow.ly/5res50ToCPv 🔗 Learn more about the benefits of membership: https://ow.ly/nSch50ToCPw #AviationNoise #EnvironmentalImpact #AffordableHousing #QuietCommunities #CitySoundscapes #UrbanPlanning #NoisePollution

At EA Maven we have published 10 mini assessments on Regional Air Mobility opportunities and 6 Urban Air Mobility mini assessments. You can download copies of the reports on our website www.eamaven.com under the publications tab. You will see a dropdown if you hover over the tab and you can navigate directly to the page. Pay attention to the number of passengers that could be attracted to new AAM services and how much time could be saved. Then look at how much that time is worth to those travellers. We are working on our carbon emissions savings calculations so expect them to come out soon. Additionally we are looking at identifying how many car journeys would be mitigated as well. #UAM #AAM #ElectricAviation #DistributedAviation Blackpool Airport Ltd. Belfast City Airport Belfast City Council Aberdeen International Airport Glasgow Airport Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Region Southend-on-Sea City Council London Southend Airport Cardiff Airport Cardiff Council DONCASTER SHEFFIELD AIRPORT LIMITED Nottingham City Council East Midlands Airport Bristol Airport Bristol City Council Birmingham Airport Birmingham City Council Ben Goldstein

Are there more English words that start with a K or more words with K as their third letter? Answer: More than twice as many English words have K in the third position than start with a K. This question from The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli demonstrates the availability heuristic—we tend to believe the opposite because words that start with "K" are easier to recall. Similarly, this bias can affect how we evaluate public transport accessibility. For example, someone might assume that because a public transport stop is well-located in an area, its public transport accessibility index should be higher than in other places without such a landmark. But, just like the "K" question, our intuitive assessment can sometimes be misleading. Proximity to a public transport stop is just one part of the story. True accessibility depends not only on physical access but also on travel time, service frequency, and the range of reachable destinations. Much like words with "K" in the third position, factors such as travel time, service frequency, and destination types may be less obvious but remain crucial for understanding public transport accessibility. #TransportationPlanning #CognitiveBias #PublicTransportAccessibility

Looking to deepen your understanding of the varied landscape on guidelines for #accessibility in #transportation? 👩🏫 REMOVING BARRIERS: A Workshop on Achieving Accessibility in Transportation Systems This two half-day virtual #training will explore the relevant standards, guidelines, and best practices plus how to integrate them into transportation system planning, design, and operation 📅 February 29 + March 1. Registration closes Feb 23. 💻 Register at https://lnkd.in/e6djXWTC 📑 NAVIGATING ACCESSIBILITY: The Need for Uniform Guidelines This article by Haley Gienow-McConnell, PhD (Left Turn Right Turn), Stefan Tsang & Alexandre Nolet (True North Safety Group) dives into the need for more uniform guidelines and promising developments in this arena. Read it at https://lnkd.in/e8Rkkvcv

Hot take!!! Nationalising #rail and the #KingsSpeech. We were well aware of the direction of travel and the commitment from the new Government to nationalise the railway in England (train operators) and Network Rail (which already is publicly owned across the UK). I think the plans sound good, they are definitely passing the hearing test but of course the detail will always be critical. I heard Louise Haigh on LBC this afternoon and she sounded thorough and passionate and wanting change for exactly the right reason - passengers and customers! (https://lnkd.in/e9M98arC from 13:06) I like the fact that she is calling it how it is, I don't particularly like the fact that some industry leaders previously didn't call it how it was and now they are - maybe they were too scared about the hand that fed them. Imho - Not for shareholders makes sense - how do we ensure competitive and innovative thinking remains / is brought in ? - Not run by engineers for engineers is sensible but, it is about engineering - needs to be engineering for better customer outcomes - we need to remember its a Victorian infrastructure - its pretty complicated - Bringing track and train decisions together via GBR is clearly not ground breaking but their disjunction is exactly the current reality - There are loads and loads of great people in the industry wanting to do the right thing - listen to and enable them I don't suppose today has told us a great deal more than 2 weeks ago but I think it sounds positive and I am hopeful that the right vision appears to be rolled out. Mission Led! Your views?