So we took this city planner around town…
The idea was to show him first-hand some of the barriers faced by people with limited mobility. Since Tammy uses a wheelchair we figured it would help Mr. City Planner’s appreciation if he used one for the day, too.
Tammy borrowed an old manual chair from PADS compound. I remember that thing from my Puppy-in-Training days; it still smells like my old kennel mates! I know they use it to train dogs like my colleague who pulls his person’s chair, but it has seen better days. (It makes noises that would scare me if I was riding in it without a harness.)
The brakes worked, which was good because our city has some BIG hills.
But one of the foot pedals fell off and needed a quick duct-tape fix-up; we were all undaunted so we did the tour anyway. Mr. City Planner thought he’d try one of those hills but wisely reconsidered after giving it a shot.
Now, curb ramps are something most people – two legged and four legged- don’t even notice but Tammy has to, and so did I.
And there were lots of spots where the curb ramps were either non-existent or covered in gravel due to minor sidewalk repairs. Sidewalk repairs are not minor when you have to get a wheelchair across the street, and Mr. Planner soon found that out.
Then we went looking for some civic buildings, the kinds of places that need to be accessible to everybody, and guess what we found? It’s lucky I was along to protect Tammy (& Mr. Planner) because there’s no way she’d have gotten into the police station if she’d needed to in an emergency! They do have an elevator – but Tammy can’t operate it by herself, and neither could anybody else with limited hand or upper-body mobility. Not to mention, I couldn’t fit in there with her – I’d have needed to go on her lap! And I’m BIG!
So then we tried the train station – woof, that’s just crazy! Even I know that you don’t go east to travel west unless you’re piloting a 747! But I guess if you use a wheelchair in THIS town, you have to board at the only station with a working elevator – and you can only access the eastbound platform at that one. So, when Tammy and I go home, (which is west) we get on the east-bound train, ride it across the river into another zone, get off, cross the platform, and board the west-bound train. Only about 45 minutes wasted there… Luckily, Tammy hasn’t been Tasered yet for only having a 2 zone ticket in a 3 zone area…! Mr. Planner seemed to be pretty taken aback by the major pain-in-the-you-know-what our transit accessibility can be in his town.
We went into an old department store too, where in order to get upstairs we had to get someone to page the freight elevator and escort us up. Of course, we know that there are some buildings that probably won’t ever be accessible to people who use wheelchairs – 100-year-old heritage buildings simply weren’t built to accommodate everybody, and that’s a fact of life. But everybody should be able to get into the police station, the library, city hall, public transit, a washroom, city sidewalks…
It’s happening slowly, and I believe that more tours like the one Mr. Planner took are a terrific way to get things moving in the right direction.
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4 comments:
This article was about a fantastic idea! Maybe you can do the same "tour" for the mayor, MPs, etc.
Again, Tammy - you are a gifted writer!
Melissa
Marvelous idea! When I get my service dog (in several months to a year), I'll put this idea on my "to-do" list. I live just down the street from my city council member, and I plan to go to every city council meeting. Our little town has very few ramps anywhere, and elevators are hard to find, too. We, too, have very many older buildings which "grandfather in" and don't have to meet accessibility codes. So, can't attend many cultural events, etc. At least I am not confined to wheelchair all the time - yet. But it will be coming - sooner than I would like.
Cheerio!
Elizabeth
I think it should be mandatory for all politicians and city planners to a tour in a wheelchair.
Madison has been puppy raising for PADS for a few years. Her first dog was a service dog. She really learned a lot about how hard it can be to get anywhere in a wheelchair.
Madison has trouble with stairs sometimes and I can't go on escalators. Sometimes finding an elevator is next to impossible. Her biggest complaint about transit is only having one elevator at major stations where there's lots of traffic in two different direction. Using the elevator at Stadium Station, for example, adds three blocks to your travel if you need to use the one elevator.
I ran across your blog when I did a blogsearch for other people who have servicedogs. I now feel bad because I don't blog enough about my servicedog Alehe (or Allie, long story). I ran across your post about taking a city planner around wtih you to inaccessible places. I am having a hard time with curb cuts here in Missoula, Montana. I did call the city about it and they said to make a list of the different areas needing curb cuts. I did to some extent (I'm sure not even half of what was needed) and their response to me was that they did not have the funds. I recently went from a manual chair to usign a powerchair part time.
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