Doggy dreams

[ghoti_mhic_uait]

I had a dream that Colin got me a dog for Christmas, a lovely brindled Staff cross. She had a broken leg, and he said that partly he got her because she'd be ready to go for walks at the same time I would be, but not before, and partly because noone else wanted a dog with a broken leg and she deserved some loving. She was an utterly sweet dog, it's true.

Anyway, I wanted to post something much less happy. I've been thinking about places that are accessible by wheelchair, for obvious reasons, and I am really very cross at firstly myself and secondly restaurants. I can't believe I've never noticed before how many restaurants you can wheel into, but then to get to the disabled toilets you have to squeeze between tables that are set too closely for a wheelchair to get down.

Hon. Mentions to Pizza Hut (the one on Newmarket Road, I think the one in town would be less good) and Yo! Sushi, both of whom have actually accessible toilets and seemed to consider a customer in a wheelchair as any other customer.

I'm OK, I can take my crutches and walk from table to toilet, but I'm not actually disabled.

Of course, there are probably problems for other places too, but I'm not getting out a lot. Presumably any shop I can't get round with the pram is not wheelchair accessible, but there aren't a lot of those. I hadn't previously even considered how difficult the tube is, because that's pretty easy with a pushchair. In fact, I love the tube as a woman alone with a baby/toddler, because people are generally really helpful. And trains! There are more now that have wheelchair spaces and no steps up than when I first started carting a baby around, but they're still not reliable.

How are disabled people even meant to get to work let alone do the work when they get there? I mean, we hear a lot about DLA cuts, so someone must have thought about that. Maybe we're going to have a public transport overhaul to make the DLA cuts feasible. Ooh look, a flying pig.


So you can see why I would be cross with myself for having known all this and just not thought about it, reliant on my mobile-privilege and not thinking of anyone else.

Comments

[bookwormsarah.livejournal.com]

Durham Pizza Express beats all (or used to - have't been there for a decade or more). They had a disabled loo, but it was reached by going down a set of steep spiral steps...

[badriya.livejournal.com]

We took Bobby because he only had one eye and we thought nobody would want a one-eyed puppy, no matter how sweet. He has been rather high maintenance though as the bullet that took the eye destroyed some teeth and those and the eye had to come out in separate operations.

"we hear a lot about DLA cuts, so someone must have thought about that." I don't think they care.

I found many places very didfficult with a wheelchair when I was taking my mum around. Even just in the streets in the NW5 area, pavements were not level and it made it hard to push it.

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

Sadly, I think you're right. It doesn't make sense to me to make more people go to work without putting in place extra provisions to help that happen, but then the whole cuts don't make sense to me.

[gerald_duck]

A friend of mine has invested in a pair of lightweight aluminium ramps for his motorised chair. They stow easily, and are sufficient to get him into most village pubs. He somewhat drily notes that one or two of the less reputable publicans think having a doorstep means they don't need to accomodate disabled customers and likes watching the look on their faces when the ramps materialise. (-8

With many places, I suspect the trick is to book in advance (or go at a less busy time) and make clear that you want a table with uncluttered wheelchair access door-to-table-to-accessible-loo. I've seen that work with many places like the Michaelhouse Café, Wagamama, the Cambridge Blue since its refit and Brown's as well as my favourite gastropub out in the fens (The Anchor in Sutton Gault). Thinking back, there are many others where it would stand a good chance of working.

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

The Carlton has a wheelchair friendly entrance, but I'm not sure it'd be possible to then get into the toilets. I suspect you're right about the timing, and there are of course other places we could go than the ones I've mentioned, but they're the best I've experienced so far.

[gerald_duck]

Hmm. Interesting terminology issue. A venue could have an "accessible" toilet (i.e. one which met accessibility criteria) which was not actually accessible, in the sense of being reachable past tables, people, etc.

But the Carlton doesn't actually have an accessible toilet at all, does it? Certainly not in the bar we frequent, but not in the other one either? (Hmm. And the wheelchair-friendly entrance is to the bar we frequent, in any case.)

There are a lot of places that I know have wheelchair-friendly entrances and plenty of space to move around and reach the toilets, but where I'm not certain they have an accessible toilet, never having checked. The Golden Curry and Saffron Brasserie, for example.

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

No, no accessible toilets at all. In retrospect, I'm surprised they didn't put one in with the refit, it would have required a little reorganisation of the ladies and a wider door over by the bar. Maybe it was too expensive, or maybe noone thought of it.

[gerald_duck]

Having seen what my employer got away with in its refit, I suspect the answer is that enforcement of building regulations in relation to accessibility and refurbishment is depressingly lax in Cambridge.

[beckyc.livejournal.com]

I wonder if there was a space issue - it is already rather cramped. Even *without* any mobility aid, I struggle to get into one of the two loos that they have!

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

I think if you changed it from two to one, it should be possible to make it big enough, and then it could have a baby change unit too.

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

Neither of those in my memory have an accessible toilet. I'm not sure I'd agree that the Golden Curry has plenty of space when the chairs are all full of humans, especially when you have to go round the corners near the door.

[gerald_duck]

There's a lot more space turning right from the entrance than turning left, and there's then a way through to the loos past the bar area.

I've eaten with a wheelchair user in the Golden Curry and, as I recall, the trickiest bit was negotiating the airlock doors to the outside — it takes two assistants, one holding each door open.

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

A secret corridor I never knew they had! Cooool

[numberland.livejournal.com]

"The Carlton has a wheelchair friendly entrance"

Um, unless the refit changed it substantially no it doesn't, there is a sizeable step down into the pub which you can't see as you come in and I wasn't told about when I came in in my powerchair, getting out was interesting and actually got hurt and bruised quite badly in the process as I had to take a run up to manage it :/

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

Are we talking about the same door? The French windows round the side? I didn't notice a step with either wheelchair or pram.

[numberland.livejournal.com]

Yes. It's not a big step (about 2-3" IIRC, and crucially it's down into the pub so not visible from outside and they called it wheelchair access even when specifically asked about powerchairs.

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

How annoying :( I always assumed things would be easier with a powered chair.

[juliet]

The deal with trains that I have observed involves a member of station staff and a ramp at both ends. No idea how this works if at an unstaffed station. Also presumably means you need to allow extra time to find a member of staff on station arrival. And then there's all the non-accessible stations (e.g. South Bermondsey & many/most of the stations on the various South London lines).

In dog news: my dog is a brindle Staff cross! See icon. We think some of her parentage is lurcher, and in fact there's probably a several of other things in there too.

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, that's a good point and one I hadn't considered. Also, cute dog :)

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

You book the member of staff in advance and go to a designated place in the station to meet them when you're catching the train, but this means you still have to leave a bit of extra time in case they're late or they couldn't fulfil the booking but helpfully forgot to tell you.

When you're arriving on the train, they're supposed to come to the carriage for your reserved seat to find you, but if it's a kind of disabled where it's better to crutches down the steps and use a station wheelchair for the platform bits, sometimes they don't get there until the train's arrived so you have to get out and stand there holding onto the train for support until they do. (Or stay in the train but you might end up in Scotland if the wheelchair-dude is happily standing by the wrong carriage waiting for you and never comes to find you.)

If it's an unstaffed station you just can't use it, you have to go to the next one and get a taxi back (ow ££), though if it's one that is unstaffed outside working hours and you say you're arriving shortly after the time they all go home, often somebody will stick around to help you because they're just nice.

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

That's interesting, thankyou

[gerald_duck]

Hmm. I wonder what happens if someone travels beyond their ticket's validity because the requested assistance didn't turn up and they were unable to leave the train.

It might end up in court. Or on Fark tagged "asinine". Or both.

[childthursday.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow. Thanks for the description of how someone would have to manage public transit. Having to rely on the staff not only adds time, but there's also the discomfort of needing to rely on someone else. A missed communication (or bad attitude) could leave someone in a bad situation.

On having to pay for a taxi...is there no reimbursement system, or an alternative bus system between stations? In my city (Chicago, IL, U.S.) you can either arrange for the "para-transit" van (which is relatively reliable) or if it's past service hours or there is some other problem that means a taxi is the only option, the public transit system has to reimburse you part of the cost.

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

Often the van is more expensive than a taxi anyway, as I discovered when looking into using it to get to physio.

[childthursday.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow. The para-transit I was talking about is either the same price as a regular bus ride, or free when it's a situation of a temporary problem (like the lift being repaired, or something).

Learning things like this reminds me to be grateful for what we've got here. The system isn't perfect at all, and it's hard as hell to get any kind of support (and when you do get it, it's on the basis of making you totally dependent instead of maintaining independence) - but there are a few things that are well-handled here. Chicago is one of the most accessible cities in the U.S....but you've been here, so as you can imagine there are still problems.

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

To be fair, it works out more economical if you use it more often, but you have to pay a registration fee and I would have had to take J, and pay for her.

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

Nope - that's ostensibly what Disability Living Allowance was for :/

[childthursday.livejournal.com]

Oh, for the love of - !

I *hate* that sort of attitude - the idea of just throwing money at the problem. First off, it's never *enough* money, and second, it lets people continue with the whole attitude of "well, most of the world can manage, so pull up your bootstraps and move along." Yuck. My deepest empathy.

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

It's not my disability, it's those of various friends and family, I just know what it entails because that's the reason I visit them rather than them visiting me! Plus the concrete steps to my house, lack of scooter parking, big hill, etc etc.

[childthursday.livejournal.com]

Ah, okay. I don't have a disability either - although I learned Braille as a child, I regained most of my functional sight. But I hear you on being aware because of issues with other people. My family, my friends, my students - I wince every time we have to go somewhere because of the difficulties.

[beckyc.livejournal.com]

Maybe we're going to have a public transport overhaul to make the DLA cuts feasible. Ooh look, a flying pig.

Like you say. A flying pig.

Even were they to make them accessible for wheelchairs, it wouldn't address the wide variety of requirements that individuals would have accessing and using public transport that *aren't* related to whether or not a person uses mobility aids.

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

That's true :(

[childthursday.livejournal.com]

I do remember being surprised when I visited the U.K. over how difficult it would be to navigate most places - particularly public transportation, but also many stores had doorsills that wouldn't have been possible to pass in a chair.

I also noticed there seemed to be very little Braille around and no real standardization for where it would be put. Although what Braille I did encounter was correct, which can't be said of the U.S. (In many places it's actually dangerously wrong - like directing a person to walk into oncoming traffic wrong.)

But I also saw people helping parents with strollers quite a lot, and often without having to be asked. That was nice to see.

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

Yes. I love travelling on my own with a baby because people are so helpful. I did notice the prevalence of Braille in the US, and was very impressed with the signage in lifts showing which was the floor with a step-free exit, we could do with that here.

[numberland.livejournal.com]

The thing with the undeground is that, yes, you can get to the train level in a lot of stations but for the vast majority of those you can't actually get on the train, impossible in a powerchair and a manual impossible without help and often without getting out of the chair, so, yeah...

The Arts Picture house is pretty good though I'm in discussions with them to improve matters.