No accessible arts

And the Gordon Post Office again!

I

The lift is out of service again. For about three whole weeks!

All that is provided is a "sorry for the inconvenience" notice. There is no temporary access.

So after my visit to the Post Office I went and had a chat to Centre Management. 

They got quite defensive claiming they were not discriminating against anyone. 

I told them that, actually, not providing temporary access, could be indirect discrimination under the DDA. 

They got even more defensive. I got all that "old building" rubbish. I asked them why they couldn't knock up a temporary ramp to allow access, if not to all the shops at least the post office. I mean, that is still an essential service no?

Now in their defence, the work on the lift is being done to "bulletproof" it to increase access. Or so they told me.

Which is why, for today, I left it at an "awareness raising" session and walked out. 

But I swear, if that lift is out of order again  I'm putting in an offical complaint.

Sushi train

Daughter loves sushi train. But:

I went in and asked them if they only have those high bar style tables or any ordinary low ones too?

No, sorry.

So, people in wheelchairs cannot come here?

No, sorry.

Well, you should be sorry sushi Mara in Gordon. You miss out on quite a bit of cash. All it takes is one lower standard table for us to sit at.

We are a family of five. We like sushi train. We often go with the grandparents - that makes it seven. That's five or seven customers lost due to inaccessibility.

We go to the sushi train at the food court in St. Ives Shopping Village. Why? See:

Their entire train is at normal table height and therefore accessible! It really isn't that hard, is it.

Almost

If you go through the trouble of building a ramp, maybe you could do it properly. 

So close, yet so far...

Off your trolley

Nice one, StIves shopping Village. Not.

Nice one. Not!

And here the footpath in Fitzroy Street, Killara. The back entrance to Killara Primary School.

And why do we use the back entrance when it's so inaccessible?

Because the front entrance doesn't have a footpath at all!

Easy

See how easy it can be? A small wedge and basic accessibility achieved. Well done Thai Tacka in Gordon!

No two dollars from us

My kids love those "two dollar shops" or Variety shops as they are now called. Not this one in St Ives though.

We can't get in, we won't come and spend our money!

Gordon Post Office

It's raining cats and dogs today. Unfortunately, i had to run a few errants - an Xray, a visit to the supermarket, and the post office.

And there it all fell apart.

You see, the post office is located in the Gordon Village Arcade. And this is what it looks like

There is no street access, neither from the Pacific Highway nor from the Wade Lane entry. There is no ramp. No travellator. There is, of course, a lift. Which is vital.

But today, the lift is out of order. Which means the post office was not accessible to us. As are almost all the other shops in the Village Arcade (level 4 can be accerssed by lift from the Gordon Centre and footbridge over the highway).

For many people, the post office still provides a vital service. Its just not good enough that the only wheelchair access is not independently (electricity independent) accessible :-(

This whole access thing.

I've been trying to put my finger on why this whole access thing bothers me so much. And last week I posted a picture on our Instagram account and it became clear.

This is the photo I posted.

We got a response quickly.

See, that response is fairly typical. It generally goes along those lines of "of course we wouldn't dream of not serving you/not letting you in. Just contact us and we'll bring it over to you". Or, "just swing by at the back entrance".

I'm sick and tired of that response.

It's simply not good enough.

It's disability discrimination.

There is an old trick to work out if something is discrimination or not. It's called "swap the minority".  If it's still ok it's ok. If it's not, it's not.

Would it be ok if Jewish customers are not able to access the shop via the front door but need to place their order and wait outside till staff bring it out?  Was it ok when black people had to use the back entrance to be served?

Now, I concede that some physical adjustment would have to be made for wheelchair users that other minorities would not need. But when shops and cafes and restaurants spend bucketloads on fitting out their  establishments to reflect their ethos or brand or "vibe", can they really not spend a bit more on constructing a ramp? It's handy for people with wheelchairs. And vision impairments. And mothers with prams. And the delivery guy with his trolley stacked full of boxes.

I understand too that many shops and cafes don't own the building they operate from. But talk to your landlord (and council) about access. If all else fails, build an internal ramp. Just stop discriminating.

Having a disability is one of those things, it does makeslife more complicated. But what really makes it difficult is the built environment that keeps people out, and the prevailing negative attitude towards people with disability. 

A wheelchair is just as much an enabling device as a pair of glasses is. 

And locking people out is with a step is just as discriminatory as hanging a "whites only" sign in your front window.

Enough already!

Accessible fish and chips in St Ives

Good on Olympia - some small renovation and hey presto....

Woolworths Gordon Center

Clip on wheelchair trolley at Woollies, Gordon Center.

Join us!

Send your photos and/or review to:

inaccessiblekuringgai@gmail.com

Also, you can find us on Instagram under InAccessibleKuringgai

Let's dance.

On Friday the 17th of April, Discobility comes to Ku-ring-gai again!

"Ku-ring-gai Council Youth Services encourage young people aged 12-24 years with special needs to dress up in a “70’s Disco/Hippy” style. The fun dance party is held at the Fitz Youth Centre, St Ives (Off Memorial Avenue) on Friday April 17 from 7pm-10pm.  

Discobility offers a great opportunity for young people in the community to meet new friends and engage within their community. It allows young people with special needs to enjoy a fun and exciting social event. Entry is $5 which includes food and drink during the evening. Music will be provided by the very famous DJ Andy.

 

Discobility will be supervised by youth workers from Ku-ring-gai Council. There is wheelchair access and a disabled toilet onsite.

 

All attendees must bring a completed declaration and indemnity form. 

These can be  be downloaded from kmc.nsw.gov.au/discobility."

Bushwalking

One of the joys of living in Ku-ring-gai is having plenty of bushwalking tracks available. Our area is not called "the leafy North Shore" for nothing. Some of the tracks are even do-able with wheelchairs.

Bushwalking can be a bit of a problem when you have mobility issues - but fear not, there are some options.

In addition to accessible paths in the Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden in St.Ives, there are two short wheelchair accessible tracks, one in Lindfield and one in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.

The Little Blue Gum Creek Track takes you, as the name promises, through some Blue Gum forest. it is only a few hundred meters long but fully accessible. It is just a bit further down Lady Game Drive from the main entry to Lane Cove National Park and allows access into more "bushy" areas of the park.

The Boardwalk at the Bobbin Head end of the much larger (and inaccessible) Gibberagong Track is a short pleasant boardwalk over the water and through the mangroves just off the picnic area and playground at Bobbin Head.

In addition, most of our firetrails in the national parks are managable with the right equipment

Some wheelchairs can be fitted with a FreeWheel (available from Mogo Wheelchair, Seating Dynamics, and Specialised Wheelchair Company) and are then able to manage most fire trails.

There are also specialised outdoor wheelchairs that can enable access to our bush, such as the trail rider, which can be hired from National Parks in selected sites. Sadly, this is not yet available in Ku-ring-gai - but maybe if people start asking that might change?

BJ from Have Wheelchair will Travel testing the TrailRider

You can hire the all terrain hippocampe wheelchair from Northcott Equipment for abut $200 deposit and about $20 a day. The hippocampe can also be taken to the beach.

The Hippocampe in action on the trail to the Cascades (St. Ives)

 And on the beach

McDonalds Gordon (Pacific Highway)

Kinda, nearly ... ah, no! Thumbs down.

This is neither a ramp nor a step. It's inaccessible for wheelchair users with a power chair or cannot "pop a wheelie".

Once inside, its quite hard to move about as the tables and chairs are bolted to the floor. Which also means there  is nowhere for a wheelie to fit at a table. And let's not mention the toilets downstairs.

A big "no no" to Maccas in Gordon.

It's the little things

Accessibility is an issue that confronts us each and every day when out and about in our local community. 

Often, it's in the little things.

Like, how the chicanes are placed on the footpath (connecting Browns Road and Cecil Street, Killara/Gordon)...

Or the height of street furniture (think shop counters, ATMs, or even those buttons to push in order to cross the street safely)...