Quixoticgeek2d ago

My train journey home starts with another accessibility rant (sorry, I've got an hour on a train and I didn't bring a book). Time to talk about something few think of as an accessibility aid

Benches

Most people take for granted that they can stand for half an hour or an hour to wait for a train. But for a surprisingly high number of people. Standing for even a few minutes can be agony. These people might not look like they need accessibility aids. But not being able to sit can be a problem
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Show threadQuixoticgeek2d ago
As part of the ongoing enshittification of the built environment, benches have been disappearing. This is because people moan that the benches get used, by homeless people who use them to lay down on. Or youths who hang out on them. The former is often countered by seat designs that stop a person laying down. It's called hostile architecture. People put effort into making bother people uncomfortable. Rather than solving homelessness. Which is something that's really easy to solve.
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Show threadMarkNW2d ago
@quixoticgeek I think there is also another reason: if there are benches, people will sit down and wait. If there are no benches, people are more likely to wander into one of the shops/cafés/outlets and spend money
Show threadQuixoticgeek
@alstonvicar except in a lot of stations there aren't even those...
Mar 30 at 1:19pmWeb