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Comment by Stephen Wey on October 18, 2012 at 12:11

Yes this is a real issue, the outdoor environment needs to be cognitively useable and accesible, this includes thinking about signage but also how the environment is structured and paced. For example timings of many road crossings in York are far too fast - I have timed a few at well under 5 seconds, particularly given that often a couple of seconds is needed for traffic that has been jammed or run through amber lights (which happens frequently) to clear. As a historical city York has a lot of very narrow streets with limited space for pedestrians, big parties of tourists, winding routes and all of this creates a lot of demands on people with dementia (and on all of us).One positive is that, unlike say Leeds (which is dreadfully loud all the time), there is not usually too much noise and noise pollution, and there are more spaces to sit and in parks and the cathedral grounds: it is still possible to find quiet and green spaces in York.

Comment by Philly Hare on October 18, 2012 at 9:26

Great to see the issue of signage and design of the outdoor environment being raised - and it sounds like the review is a very timely opportunity. Stirling University have done some great work in this area and I'm sure they could offer some bespoke advice http://dementia.stir.ac.uk/consultancy_design_audit . There are also  some other good links on our Resource Hub http://www.jrf.org.uk/work/workarea/dementia-resources  that the access consultants might want to follow up. Perhaps funding for some planning workshops involving local people with dementia plus experts on the outdoor environment could be a bid to Genius York?  

Comment by Stephen Wey on October 17, 2012 at 14:59

Hi Bob. In terms of the mobility needs of people with dementia it is important for people to be able to pace themselves and have plenty of rest places. It would also be useful though for people to be able to make use of places to pause to reorientate themselves. At the moment York is more "tourist friendly" than "dementia friendly". So for example it is comparatively easy to find sign posts to museums and historical landmarks, but try and find a supermarket in York centre and you will be going round in circles. That is likely to wear people out even more, as well as add to disorientation. Signage needs to reflect general usability, not just landmarks. People need help to optimise the routes they take through the centre; this has a potential impact on risk of falls for older people as much as orientation, and helps make the environment much more usable and sustaining of well being.

Comment by Bob Sydes on October 17, 2012 at 12:32

Not sure about a slow down day but peaceful places for reflection and social contact is a great idea. I am currently involved in preparing a streets and spaces design manual for York which contains analysis of how our streets and spaces are currently used and/or abused as well as providing gudance for future management. As part of this procesxs I have also commissioned consultants to prepare an access and mobility audit of the centre.  This is all being carried out as part of the Reinvigorate York agenda. The amount and location of public seating has emerged as an issue, particularly on Coney Street and other busy retail areas. The access consultants are recommending seating intervals of no more than 50m spacing. I am also looking at identifying places (church yards an obvious one) where people can rest away from the hustle and bustle. I never thought about all this in terms of dementia sufferers so it provides an interesting new perspective. Happy to discuss further with anyone who is interested.