TRP go to PAMELA

In March The Ramp People's representatives visited PAMELA in London - PAMELA stands for Pedestrian Accessibility and Movement Environment Laboratory; it is an indoor 80 sq metre artificial pavement at a research centre at based within University College London. It is used to simulate everyday scenarios, from different pavement users to varying pavement conditions. Its experiments may result in safer streets and more user-friendly public spaces.

We were be met by: Catherine Holloway, PhD Lecture in Accessibility Engineering and Co-Director of the MSc Transport, Health & Policy, University College London.

You can follow Catherine on twitter: @cathyholloway1

Catherine has recently started a research project funded through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Council (it does not yet have its own website). This project is about ergonomics, in particular how wheelchair users are now able to get on and off buses because of the ramps installed. Sometimes the ramp do not deploy correctly, sometimes the space inside the bus is not ideal, and Catherine is researching how unsuitable transport environments could damage the body. Here is a link to the official EPSRC description of the project and its funding