A comparative study of accessibility
Rubi		Portsmouth
	Rubí is placed on a hilly territory, so most of the streets have a slope. This "natural" barrier is difficult and very expensive to solve.		Portsmouth territory is very flat, so it is ideal for wheelchair users or people with special needs of mobility.
	The streets of the centre are narrow or very narrow, and so are the pavements. This is sometimes inaccessible, particularly for wheelchair users.		The streets and pavements are wide and of a non-skid surface. In most cases, the pavements and the streets have a different colour.
	The kerbs are too high and there are few drops to allow crossing.		The kerbs are very low and there are drops at every pedestrian crossing.
	We have not come across any acoustic street lights.		The streetlights have a special sound for the blind.
	Although public transport is said to be adapted, sometimes the bus-stop is not adapted.		Most of the local buses are adapted and they have a place at the front for wheelchairs, trolleys, pushchairs or bags. The seats at the front are only for people who need them.
	There are not any public adapted toilets in the streets (there are not even toilets!)		There are adapted public toilets with the RADAR (The Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation) key holder scheme, basically in the centre of the town. There is a leaflet available at the City Council providing location of these toilets in town.
	There are not any adapted public telephones for the blind or people with hearing impairment and very few for wheelchair users.		There are adapted public telephones in the center of the town.
	There are very few parking areas for the disabled. Most of them do not meet all the requirements to be considered “adapted.”		We did not see many adapted parking spaces because parking is not allowed in most of the centre of the town. Nevertheless, wherever there is a car park, there are free adapted parking spaces. Free parking for adapted vehicles can also be found on street pay-and-display areas.
	We have not found taxis adapted for wheelchair users.		Most of the local taxis are adapted and they have a place for wheelchairs, trolleys, pushchairs or bags.
	Not only old buildings present accessible problems, but modern ones do not meet all the accessible regulations for people with disabilities		Old buildings present difficult problems of accessibility, which sometime can be solved with ramps and lifts but there are cases where it is not possible, but modern ones are adapted.
	There are few seats in the street, particularly in the streets with an important slope.		There are many seats and benches in the cantre of the town.
	There is not an enquiry service for the deaf or the hard of hearing passenger at the train station or the City Council.		There is a rail enquiry service for deaf or hard of hearing passengers at the train station.
	Although cars are not allowed to park on the pavements you can see that most of them just do it, blocking the access to the pavement and sometimes to pedestrian crossings.		Cars are not allowed to park on the pavements. In fact, we have never seen just one vehicle blocking a passage.
	There are light posts placed in the middle of very narrow pavements, thus blocking the passage of wheelchair user.		We have never seen any public furniture blocking a pavement.
	We have experienced that cars showing the disabled badge are not offered special treatment, even when their parking bays are blocked by ordinary cars.		There is an orange “parking permit for the disabled” which allows them to park on double yellow lines or at meters without charge.
	The tiles of the pavements sometimes are loose or missing, being a real danger not only for the blind or for wheelchair users, but for elderly people.		The floor of the pavements is always levelled and flat. It also has non-skid tiles.
	Every disabled person we have talked to in Rubí has mentioned the great difficulties they have to move around in this town. The street is a hostile place for them.		We could see a lot of people riding a kind of electric, four-wheeled motorcycles, which are allowed to run on the pavements. This kind of vehicle is ideal for elderly people as well as for the disabled as it is half way between an electric chair and a motorcycle. It is very easy to drive and runs at the same speed as a walking person. It also has a place for clutches and the shopping bag.
	We have not seen any information about facilities for the disabled or elderly people published by the City Council.		There is information for disabled people in every guide, brochure or web page we have come across. They are also encouraged to visit the town or to go around shopping or sightseeing.
	There is no publication about parking zones for disabled people in our town.		There is a leaflet, available at the City Council, called "Parking for Disabled Badge Holders." It provides information about the parking zones for disabled motorists in the town.
	We have noticed that there is a lot to do to make Rubí a town equally accessible to everybody.		We have noticed there is a general commitment to make this town equally accessible to all sections of the community.