Just how accessible is Columbia?

Columbia's accessibility or lack there of?

By Melanie Barbour, Hannah Smith and Taylor Smith

We began our group date at Hannah’s apartment, Belvedere, on Hitt Street. Due to the age of the building, elevators and ramps were nonexistent. Even the stairs leading to the entrance of the building made this location impractical. The pictures below exemplify the inaccessibility issues we faced at Hannah’s apartment.

We then proceeded to walk a short distance from Hannah’s apartment to enjoy lunch at Uprise Bakery. As illustrated in the pictures below, this establishment provided sufficient accessibility features upon entrance. This included wide doorframes and multiple ramps. Once inside, there was adequate space to accommodate wheelchair users. The heights of the tables were conducive to an individual in a wheelchair, and the chairs could be moved, making this a suitable place to have lunch. However, the height of the bar was problematic. For the purpose of our date this was a nonissue but in the context of an evening date the highly elevated bar would be a concern. Upon further exploration, we found that the men’s bathroom was accessible, but the women’s bathroom was not. The fact that the women’s bathroom did not have a handicap stall was surprising. Despite the stalls being slightly bigger than average, it did not compensate for the lack of a stall specifically designed for wheelchair users. The design of the sink would also make hand washing challenging if not impossible due to the height. Additionally, the cabinets and soap dispenser were positioned in such a way that rendered them completely inaccessible.

 

 

After lunch we proceeded to walk to downtown Columbia in search of entertainment. This portion of our date proved to be more difficult than expected. The first establishment we tried to enter was Imago, an art gallery right around the corner from Uprise. However, we quickly realized this was not an option considering the only way to enter was up a set of stairs. Next we stopped at the Yellow Dog Bookshop. This bookstore initially seemed feasible. A long ramp provided an accessible entryway from sidewalk to the interior of the store. Yet once inside the Yellow Dog Bookshop, navigating through the very narrow aisles and around tight corners could pose a challenge to wheelchair users. Our third attempt to find entertainment in downtown Columbia was a success. Make Scents; located on Ninth Street was a suitable option for anyone in search of a date that is both accessible and fun. The entryway was flat and wide, allowing for an easy entrance.  The interior of the store was spacious.  The layout of Make Scents is very open with the exception of one aisle off to the right, which seemed somewhat narrow in comparison to the rest of the store.  At first glance, the counter seemed problematic due to the height. Then we noticed that the counter was open on both sides which would provide a wheelchair-using customer easy access to staff and scents without too much difficulty

 

Ideally we would have enjoyed private time at one of our houses. As stated earlier, this was unreasonable considering the lack of accessibility. The alternative we chose for the last portion of our date was Peace Park. This proved to be a lovely location due to the sense of privacy and accommodating characteristics. The specific aspects we most appreciated included: accessible sidewalks, curb cuts leading to the park, wide paths throughout the park, as well as a bridge and benches, which were both accessible.

In conclusion, the city of Columbia provides the basic necessities such as sidewalks with curb cuts and ramps in some locations. Overall, this city is somewhat lacking accessible venues for entertainment and food. However, with adequate planning and research beforehand, an accessible date is definitely attainable.