Accessible or not accessible… that is the question!

Well. There is a lot of talk about accessibility when it comes to people in the community with disabilities, whether they are temporary or permanent. For myself, I have been told – and try to believe – that my current state of disablement is a temporary condition which apparently will improve.

I digress. As I am currently heavily reliant on a walking frame to get around, it has opened my eyes as to what is or is not accessible. I cannot currently walk without a walker. This is not about weakness in my legs as they remain strong, it is about difficulty standing up or walking because of the strength of the pain ripping down my legs.

So, as I have been out and about with my husband, I have noticed a few things that take away from a facility or other disability thing from being truly accessible.

• Disability Parking spaces that have a normal curb in front, so you either need help getting your walker or whatever onto the path, or you struggle to do it yourself which can cause significant pain. Or you have to walk around your vehicle on the road – which isn’t very safe – to find a place without a curb.
• Lots of Disability Parking spaces have the ‘hashed’ part on the driver’s side, so there is width for car doors to open and wheelchairs etc to be put in place. Perhaps the assumption is that they are used by people with a disability that can drive themselves. As, I am being driven, I need the hashing to be on the passenger side and that is a rarity.
• Disability toilets. This is one of the worst. Even in a brand new building, built to house various disability services there is a heavy door leading to the toilets which has to be navigated first. Once in, there is a sliding door to the actual toilet but it is a mission. It is a ‘pain’ both literally and figuratively to get into the Disabled toilets.
• Cafes that have heavy doors to enter. This is difficult for a person with a disability to navigate. At times they won’t be able to enter without assistance. Then once in if they need to go to the outdoor area, there is a heavy door to negotiate. Also, often there is a difficulty if needing the toilet facilities, see previous comment.

That’s all I can think of at the moment, but perhaps that is enough. Disability options to access the community need to have more input from users. I don’t know if any of the things I’ve mentioned above would have had any ‘expert’ input – I consider people with disabilities natural experts on what they need – in fact I think it is glaringly obvious that they have not!

My temporary disability – which I am assured by professionals it is – has opened my eyes to the challenges of moving in a world kitted out for those who are able, rather than those with temporary or permanent, differing levels of reduced ability. More consultation needs to be done with users. Clever designers seem to be – in some cases – putting all their time, energy and expertise into building beautiful buildings that cannot be easily accessed by a whole section of society.

Access needs to be equitable for all.