typical day at the office...

[deird1]

Today I acquired an instant disability!

I became incapable of walking, travelled from my workplace to Footscray, and was suddenly, miraculously, cured - while one of my colleagues was afflicted with the same instant-onset disability, and staggered into the scooter I'd just got out of...


Yes, folks, it's DISABILITY AWARENESS time at work, and we had a session learning about disability access issues on public transport. We divided into groups (scooters, wheelchairs, blindness) and travelled round the city. And it's really tricky.

There were no signs near the lifts, no turning space on some of the trains, no way to validate our tram tickets... The whole experience was very fascinating, and made me even more enthused about fixing accessibility issues.



Hurrah for legs! *walks anywhere and everywhere*

Comments

[iosef.livejournal.com]

My experiences with disability access today:
Get to my chosen Supermarket to find that both Disability bays near the front door are full. Drive up the ramp to upstairs parking. Find that the two Bays there, near the lift have a large 4WD (no disability plate showing)taking up one, with a woman strapping her baby into a bay seat. Behind her, in the middle of the other bay is the trolley with baby seat that it appears she has just finished with. She finishes up, gets into her seat and lights up a cigarette, then starts a call on her hand-held mobile before (eventually) pulling out, still talking on the phone and smoking.
After parking, I take the lift down, then (out of curiosity) check the two downstairs bays. Neither car had a permit either.

This is a "gourmet" chain, not part of a shopping center. When it first opened, and the car park wasn't yet finished I had asked a manager about Disability Parking (they had marked upstairs but not down) and the manager assured me that they would be putting in one by the door. While I was shopping (having left happy that it was being dealt with)he checked with the constructors, then tracked me down to assure me that two would be being marked the following Friday.
I can't fault the shop, but I am less than fond of some of its customers, while some of the others (like the lady last week that held the lift a more than reasonable time to let me get to it) are very thoughtful.

[velvetwhip]

That's quite an awareness-raiser.


Gabrielle

[deird1]

It really was!

Next month they're running the same course for all the Transport CEOs. So hopefully they'll realise how important accessibility is and start improving their organisations...