Our Accessible Date

For our accessible date we decided to meet at Liv's apartment. She lives at Orr Street Lofts on E Walnut Street. We chose her apartment because it's in downtown

 Columbia and there would be less walking around and it is easily accessible.

 

Her apartment is also wheelchair accessible. 

After meeting at Liv's apartment we then had to decide where we wanted to eat. Since it was very cold out side we decided to eat someplace close so that we could minimized our time outside in the cold. We had to also choose someplace that would be wheelchair accessible. We decided to go eat at Fuzzy's. It was only a seven minute walk from Liv's apartment and is wheelchair accessible.


We took this route to get to Fuzzy's because it was the shortest time. The sidewalks in Columbia are not well maintained and we noticed a lot of cracks and snow/ice on the ground which could be difficult for a wheelchair user.

Fuzzy's had a flat doorway that a wheelchair could easily fit through, however there is wooden barriers to navigate the line through that would be hard to go through for a wheelchair. The counter is also a bit high for someone to order at in a wheelchair. There is a lot of tables for someone to move a chair for a wheelchair to be seated at. Another downside is that you have to pick up your food from the counter so you would need to get an abled bodied person to pick up the food or ask the employees to bring your food to your table.

After dinner we needed something fun to do. SilverBall is a bar/arcade that is right next door to Fuzzy's, so in order to save time and not walk outside any longer than needed, we decided to go next door for drinks and games. A problem with SilverBall is that there is a platform on the main floor with a lot of games that makes it impossible for someone in a wheelchair to access. There could easily be a ramp to get up but there is not. There is also a whole other floor but there was only steps to gain access to it. 

                                     

(VOX)

While we could only have access to part of the first floor, there was still a lot of games we could play. There was table hockey, air hockey, crane machines, and shooting games.

After some games and drinks we wanted some private time. We decided to go back to Liv's apartment because she had an elevator and the rest of her building and room was very wheelchair accessible. Her entry way into her apartment was very wide and there were not obstacles inside her apartment to navigate through so having a nice relaxing night hanging out would be very possible.

This imaginary date really opened our eyes about how even if someplace is wheelchair accessible, there's a bunch of tiny things you don't think about that can be hard for someone who is not abled bodied to do. And while Columbia is somewhat wheelchair accessible, it is not good enough.