Pavements that are too narrow, too steep or blocked by street furniture are among the everyday barriers for mobility scooter users. The Department for Transport (DfT) publishes design guidance that puts numbers on what an accessible pavement should look like. This guide summarises the figures most relevant to scooter users. It describes guidance, not a legal entitlement, and it does not cover standards issued separately by the Scottish, Welsh or Northern Ireland governments.
What Inclusive Mobility is
Inclusive Mobility is DfT’s guide to best practice on access to pedestrian and transport infrastructure. The current edition was published on 10 January 2022, replaced a version first published in 2002 and is intended to give disabled people good access to public transport and the pedestrian environment. DfT says it expects to consider the next update within five years (GOV.UK, “Inclusive mobility: making transport accessible for passengers and pedestrians”).
The document states that references to pedestrians and walking include people using “invalid carriages”, meaning mobility scooters designed for use on the footway. Its measurements are therefore intended to include scooter users (DfT, “Inclusive Mobility: A Guide to Best Practice on Access to Pedestrian and Transport Infrastructure”, section 1.3).
How big is a scooter, according to the guidance?
The guidance draws on a 1999 survey of occupied wheelchairs. For mobility scooters, the width results ranged from 501 mm to 695 mm, with a mean of 607 mm. The longest electric mobility scooters measured up to 1,500 mm, and scooter users’ mean height was 1,340 mm (DfT, “Inclusive Mobility”, section 3.3). Because the survey dates from 1999, these figures describe the scooters measured then, not necessarily today’s models.
Pavement width
Footways and footpaths should be as wide as practicable. Under normal circumstances, the guidance gives 2,000 mm as the minimum to provide, because that allows two wheelchair users to pass, even if they are using larger electric mobility scooters. Where physical constraints make that impossible, 1,500 mm is regarded as the minimum acceptable under most circumstances, enough for a wheelchair user and a walker to pass each other. Where there is an obstacle such as a lamp column, signpost or electric vehicle charging point, the absolute minimum is 1,000 mm, and such a restricted stretch should not exceed 6 metres in length (DfT, “Inclusive Mobility”, section 4.2).
Slopes and cross-slopes
The guidance describes a “level” pedestrian environment as one with no gradient steeper than 1 in 60. Where that is not feasible, gradients should not exceed 1 in 20, and level landings should be provided at regular intervals so people can rest. Steeper gradients up to 1 in 10 are accepted only over very short distances, such as a ramp between a bus entrance and the pavement, and 1 in 12 is described as the absolute maximum as a general rule, partly because of a risk of a wheelchair toppling over.
For cross-slopes (a sideways tilt used for drainage), a fall of between 1 and 2 per cent, up to 1 in 50, is preferred, with 1 in 40 the maximum acceptable. The guidance notes that variable cross-slopes cause problems and can arise where a footway crosses vehicle driveways (DfT, “Inclusive Mobility”, section 4.3).
Dropped kerbs
Section 4.11 says level access at all road crossings is essential and that flush dropped kerbs with tactile paving should always be provided at crossings. On longer side roads and residential roads, it suggests considering dropped kerbs at least every 100 metres where possible, so users are not forced into long detours. Other figures include:
- dropped kerbs should preferably be flush with the road, with a maximum 6 mm tolerance provided there is a rounded bullnose;
- the approach gradient should not exceed 1 in 12, and 1 in 20 should be achieved where space allows;
- the flush section should be at least 1,200 mm wide, or 3,000 mm where there are heavy pedestrian flows;
- at the foot of the kerb, the road camber should be no more than 1 in 20 for 600 mm, so that front wheels do not catch on an opposing upslope.
Obstructions on the pavement
The guidance identifies free-standing advertising boards, tables and chairs, rubbish bags and vegetation as hazards, and describes parking on the footway as another common hazard for pedestrians. It notes that local authorities in England have powers to ban pavement parking through Traffic Regulation Orders and traffic signs (DfT, “Inclusive Mobility”, section 4.7). Where street works block a footway and a temporary walkway is provided, it should be at least 1,200 mm wide, with an absolute minimum of 1,000 mm, and any kerb ramps should be strong enough to support a mobility scooter and be slip-resistant (DfT, “Inclusive Mobility”, section 4.9).
Using the figures in practice
- Reporting problems: the guidance gives a benchmark for describing a problem to a highway authority, for example a footway narrower than 1,500 mm or a missing dropped kerb at a crossing. The guidance is not law, so it supports a request rather than compelling a fix.
- Your legal rights: discrimination rules operate separately. Our guide to the Equality Act and mobility scooters covers those.
Questions readers often ask
Is the 2,000 mm width a legal requirement?
No. It is a design recommendation in DfT best-practice guidance. It describes what should be provided where practicable, not a figure that makes a narrower pavement unlawful.
Does it apply in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?
The document is DfT guidance, and its pavement-parking passage refers specifically to local authorities in England. Standards elsewhere in the UK may differ.
The bottom line
DfT’s Inclusive Mobility guidance, published in January 2022, recommends a pavement width of at least 2,000 mm where two people using large mobility scooters may need to pass, with 1,500 mm the usual minimum where space is constrained and 1,000 mm around obstacles for no more than 6 metres. It also gives gradient, cross-slope and dropped-kerb figures. These are best-practice benchmarks, not legal minimums, but they give scooter users a clear yardstick for judging a route or reporting a barrier to the highway authority.
Sources
- GOV.UK, “Inclusive mobility: making transport accessible for passengers and pedestrians”
- DfT, “Inclusive Mobility: A Guide to Best Practice on Access to Pedestrian and Transport Infrastructure” (PDF) (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)