Ability Forum

UKRobin · Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 4:42 am Post subject: Access is it really that bad?

I'm from the UK so can only speak from a UK point but here my penny worth.........

OK disabled people all moan about it, all have horror stories to tell but as a w/chair user of more than thirty years and having a long memory I can positively say ‘things are definitely on the up’

OK before you shoot me down in flames with your stories of ‘I can’t get in here or I cant get in there’ let me explain a little more.

30 years ago at the tender age of 16, I came out of hospital after being in for 11 ½ months. I could not cross most roads as dropped curbs were a rare thing. Going into a pub (yes even at 16) was near on impossible and you would be frowned upon for doing so.

I remember being denied access to many places such as cinemas because I was a Health & Safety risk’ in case a fire broke out. Booking a hotel was near on impossible and as for flying, I’d have more luck trying to grow wings.

Disabled people didn’t drive cars either, they had (Bright Blue) ‘invalid carriages’ that stood out like a sore thumb and shouted out ‘Look I’m disabled’

Not only have there been many improvements in this time but more importantly peoples attitudes have changed a great deal and I really do mean a GREAT deal. We now have a place in society but further more are excepted in the big bad outside world.

OK so there are still places we cant access and to be honest there always will be but on a whole we have evolved in leaps and bounds.

Correcting all the worlds access issues is a mammoth task, especially in a country as old as the UK but we are getting there, no longer can we be denied access to cinemas, booking (most) hotels is now possible and yes, they even have disabled rooms (Something that was not heard of not so long ago in the past) not only have ‘Invalid carriages’ been scrapped but the word invalid has been scrapped with it. (UK)

We are getting there, we just need to see it.

Robin

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Shivani · Posted: Sun Jul 08, 2007 3:16 pm Post subject:

Dear Robin,

First and foremost I will like to welcome you to this forum and bring in opinions and experiences of a person in the UK. It is really very interesting to read your post and I just cannot help thinking that it seems we are still 30 years behind UK as far as access goes.

we still cannot access the pedestrian environment because there are no curb cuts.
Going to a pub is something that you need to plan well in advance so as to make sure you have friends who can carry you up the steps at the entrance.
Cinema's - well we are a health and safety hazard

Well frankly speaking I don't think we are in any way getting there Sad

. As an access consultant I can understand that not places can be accessible to us, but still there is a long way to go.

I may not think that we are getting there but yes I do agree we do need to see it through.

regards,
Shivani

UKRobin · Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 12:56 am Post subject:

I agree getting there but not there

but I cant help thinking that we tend to be blind to the good changes and concentrate too much on the bad.

We need Govenment grants to be made available then those that want to improve access/egress will be able to instead of not having the money to do what we all expect them to do.

Either that or a wheelchair user as a Prime Minster but i cant see that happening.

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Shivani · Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 10:10 am Post subject:

well he had our former PM, use a wheelchair for quite a while due to a knee replacement surgery. Rather our present Minister of Urban Development is a disabled person..........

We can definatly see some sporadic building that are becoming accessible but there doesn't seem to be wholistice policies to make sure that efforts do not remain sporadic.

I am presently writing my dissertation - studying the impact of our 11 year disablity Act on Accessibility in India and some information that I have come across in the annual reports of the Chief Commissioner Disabilities report (equivalant to the DRC) is hilarious. The Access priorities of one of the States was to make its cinema theaters accessible. Well I have nothing against this priority as long as basic infrastructure like educational institutes, transport system etc are accessibile. But the sad part is that neither the cinema hall nor the basic infrastructure will be accessible.

I dont want to be sounding like a disgrunted person against the government but the fact remains that unless the Govt. doesn't get the Disability Act, regulation and policies right, ground implementation will remain sporadic and applicable only to the Government infrastructure.

Shivani