accessibility » Moonwolf's Lair

Wheel meet again – or not …

Feb 252012

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m an advocate for accessible public transport in the Metropolitan Washington DC area (or in general, if you consider my support for those fighting for accessible transport in the UK recently too).

I just realized that I’ve whilst advocating for that, I’ve kind of assumed that the destination I use transit to reach will be accessible to begin with.

Thinking back on it, I don’t think it was a bad assumption to make in the DC area, really – I haven’t encountered a place I wanted to visit that barred me from doing so because of my wheels in many years now, the nation’s Capital doesn’t seem inclined to turn away perfectly good visitors and customers simply because of their mode of locomotion (for the most part).

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Posted by Moonwolf on February 25, 2012 Disability, Musings accessibility, Disabled, twitter, wheelchair No Responses »

CVS Pharmacy Accessibility Fail

May 232011

This is the usual view of the aisles at our local CVS pharmacy.

If asked, the store will always try to explain it away as a temporary situation because of deliveries. Their definition of temporary seems to extend to several days – you know, up to the *next* delivery?

Some of the aisles in this clip are blocked by static end-cap displays that were placed half-way across also.

It makes the only practical wheelchair accessibility to their store, including at times reaching their pharmacy section, be via the good old fashioned bulldozer method – if you’re going to leave your crap blocking my passage, I’m gonna move it for you.

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Posted by Moonwolf on May 23, 2011 Disability, Musings accessibility, CVS, CVS/pharmacy 3 Responses »

Good Idea/Bad Idea Revisited

Aug 092008

Back in April 2008, I wrote about the work that was done on our nearby park by M-NCPCC.

Shortly after that entry, they got back to us via email, saying

This situation will be corrected and you will once again be able to access the pathway that leads under Riverdale Road.

Unfortunately, there’s apparently still been no movement on this, the railing still cuts right across the park from one side to the other – and, in fact, it’s even worse now once you get past this huge metal barrier, because subsidence has caused a great big crack to appear in an older section of sidewalk.

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Posted by Moonwolf on August 9, 2008 Disability accessibility, Anacostia, barriers, Disability, engineering, M-NCPPC, maryland, Prince George's County No Responses »

Good Idea / Bad Idea

Apr 042008

[Updated April 9th 2008]

We live next to a wonderful park, beside a branch of the Anacostia River as it wends its way down towards DC and environs.

Until recently, it’s been impossible for us to use that park to get to the main road leading into town though.

The reason? This bridge over one of the drainage ravines to the Anacostia itself. The bridge is old, too narrow for wheelchairs, and has a virtual step up at either end where it meets the ground.