Accessibility in your Community

[michaela]

Hey all, here's a fun mental exercise.

 

Think about all the accessibility options you see around your town/neighborhood: Are there enough of them? Who are they geared towards? What could be done to make things more accessible for all people?

 

I live in a pretty big metro area so we have a lot of transit options for those with disabilities - all of the buses are wheelchair accessible, and there are also overhead stop announcements and verbal announcements about streets/stops for the hearing or vision impaired. There's even a whole subsidiary of bus lines called Metro Mobility for those with more specialized transit needs and I think this is GREAT!

 

But, when I look around at store fronts and front stoops and stairwells - in most places I very rarely see any wheelchair ramps.

 

What's it like where you live?

[louise19]

Hey

 

Had a little look over the weekend and you are really right, I was expecting to see way more accessible things in place for disabled people than I did.

 

Also, have you ever stopped and noticed how stupidly high bars are in pubs these days, that must be so scary for people who are older and want to go out with their mates.

[jayb]

I have a mate who has been in a wheelchair since birth and I find it hard to see how lacking so many places are in terms of wheelchair access, it makes angry, to be honest. If tomorrow the majority of us were in wheelchairs just watch how quickly things would change,

 

Rant over-more needs to be done.

[randomguy]

The public buses in my area are actually decent with mental health because:

1. like yours there's wheelchair accesbillity

2. They always have advert inside the buses which have included advertising bullying and suicide prevention as well as other charities as they have a charity of the year.

 

the only downside is the drivers should take action when they see bullying on the bus as they obviously see it because of CCTV cameras.

 

in my town/streets most of the traffic lights beep for vissually impaired and my friend told me that they also have a thing underneath that vibrates so deaf/colour blind etc... people know when it's green man and also here in England the £10 notes have braile on them so vissually impared/blind can tell the notes apart.

[jake]

I think the local restaurants are all pretty crammed and the tables are too low for people in wheelchairs sometimes. I also think people in wheelchairs might feel uncomfortable if they aren't catered to

[oceanwaves101]

For visually impaired people, like me, this is a huge problem in big, busy places or small, cramped spaces, such as cafes, cities and towns. This is always frustrating when I want to go to a certain place but I can't due to having a disability myself. It's also annoying when I trip people up in busy places as I will if no one is looking at the floor since I use a white cane to help get around outside the places that I know well, such as town or the market place.

 

Transport itself is also an issue for people like me as what if I want to get to London? I have to take the underground which is literal hell for a person with retinis pigmentosa like myself and wheelchair users. However, trains and buses are a lot more accessable despite it being very hard for me to get on/off trains due to the large drop before stepping on. I hope you like my rambling.