Gin For Accessibility

Abigail’s Perspective

The night of the big date is here! Let us see just how accessible a date in downtown Columbia is. Josh and I decided to meet up at Strickland Hall on Mizzou’s campus. However, the accessible button was broken. So I simply had to tell him to meet me outside. We chatted to calm the nerves and tried to adopt a cute little brown squirrel to no avail. The nerves were definitely hitting so it was time to get going. 

We left Strickland and rolled/walked down campus to the Heidelberg. The Berg is one of my favorite pubs for its cozy feel, affordable options, and strong drinks. Joshua was a perfect gentleman and opened the door for me. Right away, since it was dinner time, the place was a tad loud. The reason I enjoy this restaurant so much is because it has taller bar height tables that my power chair can raise up and meet. This allows my arms a break on days that lifting to my face is hard work. Unfortunately, to get to the bar height table we have to go through the tight fit tables. Which means the nervous “excuse me” is hard to get out over the noise. With the loud laughs and happy chewing sometimes I have to even tap the person to scoot their chair in which can be awkward on a date but Joshua was really great about it, as any good date should be. 

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After delicious fried pickles and doubles cocktails it became harder and harder to miss the crazy dart throwers by the one tall table we sat at. Not cool Berg, not cool. 

Joshua....

Our next destination was to hit Billiard for some good old fashion pool. As boring as some think it is, it is enjoyable. We noticed the outside looked like a bar, which is right up our alley. Entering inside it was very spacious with both tall tables and short ones alike. The tables were low enough to fit both kinds of wheelchairs too. :) Abigail seemed really receptive to an activity you could do with your arms. The typical tinder date of “hiking” does not really work for wheelchair goers so she really enjoyed having an activity she could do without being hindered. It left room for A LOT of smack talk which is great for any first date. 

After being there a while and the alcohol doing what alcohol does, it was time for the restroom. Of course, this is the point we had to separate, but as I hear the girl’s bathroom was amazing. [Abigail Here: The girls bathroom was great! The accessible stall fit my power chair, snug but still fit, and therefore manual chairs could fit no problem. The accessible stall also had the easy to use door handles instead of knobs which is great for those with lower manual dexterity.] I had managed to make my way into the men’s room and snapped a shot with the toilet paper falling almost to the ground. If they are not careful, with the Corona Virus going around, and all the toilet tissue flying off the shelves, it might get swept up, but I digress. They did have the holders around the toilet to help anyone that is needs it too.

Abigail...

I’ll tell you right now, if Joshua wasn’t such a great guy, I would have “walked”. The sidewalks off the main strips of Broadway and 9th are impossible! My power chair was struggling and I was starting to get a little sore in my back from the bumps. I even had to back down one bump so my chair would not tip. It seemed the most logical thing to finish the square from Broadway back to Kaldis, we didn’t know where we wanted to go so it didn’t make sense to go back the way we came. I guess we should have expected the worst and gone back the way we came. Anyways, I was freezing and sore but the company was great! I do not know or manual chairs would have made it. I definitely would have had to ask for help and on a first date that can be awkward. 

Joshua…

At this point we felt it was time to sober up at a coffee shop so we could get more intimate time. Something a little quieter. But when we went in, we couldn’t get to the best place, but being happy in any situation, we hung out in a different part, then the night closed with a good night and saying that we had fun! :)

Caitlin, Cleo and Auzzie's Accessible Date

We technically started our date at Arts & Sciences, where Caitlin and Cleo walked from to meet Auzzie at the Belvedere apartment building. The portion of the walk that took place on MU campus was good. The Hitt street portion is fairly nice because of the new music building that was just finished. However, once we got to Belvedere, it got a bit dicey.

Auzzie was already outside, so Caitlin and Cleo didn't have to go in (yet), but there are stairs on the path to the building’s entrance. So we started our walk to this new, super indie, place called Uprise Bakery and Ragtag Cinema for our date.

On our way to Ragtag, we walked past Brookeside apartments, and the sidewalks were good. However when it came to crossing the street, they got progressively bumpier. Chunks of the curb were laying on the sidewalk.

We arrived at Ragtag pretty quickly, and were greeted by a sign on the door that said that Ragtag had auditory accessibility for moviegoers.

The front door that was 34 inches wide, two inches wider than the minimum requirement of 32 inches. The doorway had slightly incline, but it had a small rampt to make up for it. The door was not automatic, but it can be easily opened by another person.

We arrived for our date around 5pm, so Uprise was fairly empty. There was plenty of room and a lot of the tables were empty. We happened upon a table with three chairs and an empty side, so it worked out well. The tables were fairly tall as well.

While we were waiting for our movie to start, we visited Hitt Street Records, which is connected to Uprise and Ragtag. It is not very accessible at all. Some aisles were wide enough, but most of them were not. The country and blues section was on an elevated platform with no ramp, which means no country or blues for our date. Additionally, the second floor, which has movies and classical music, is only accessible by stairs. Hitt Street Records is unfortunately almost entirely inaccessible.

We moved on quickly and headed to our movie. The ticketbooth was fairly low, compared to the register for Uprise Bakery. The hallways were plenty wide, the only hiccup being the black drapes hanging within the 32 inch range. In the theater itself, there are two seats near the front “reserved for wheelchair.” Ragtag also has closed captioning and earpieces for moviegoers. The theater, overall is accessible, but we noticed that the reserved spot felt a bit ostracizing from the rest of the theater. That said, it served us well.

After our movie, we checked out the bathroom. It’s the main accessible bathroom for Uprise Bakery, Ragtag Cinema and Hitt Street Records. The door was plenty wide and all of the appropriate measures were in place.

After our dinner and a movie, we headed back to Belvedere for private time. Unfortunately, the building has stairs going into and inside of it. Even if we were able to get upstairs to her apartment, the door is only 31 inches wide. Even if we were able to get into her apartment, her bathroom was the size of a closet.

So plan B! We came back on to campus, a place where, legally, the dorm halls have to be accessible. Defoe-Graham Hall’s door was more than 32 inches wide and was automatic. The elevator is huge, and it can hold 8 people. The hallways are wide and the dorm doors are just wide enough to pass through. So private time was a success.

Shakes and Silverall oh my!

Shakespeare’s  

Rather than going through the hassle of picking an accessible location and choosing the easiest route on the unsafe, Columbia sidewalks, we decided to meet our date at a no better date spot than Shakespeare’s Pizza-Downtown. 

Upon arriving at Shakespeare’s, we were unaware of how many troubles we would face concerning finding a table that was easily accessible to someone in a wheelchair. While there was a large, spacious seating area, there were only a limited number of tables with the exception of the outdoor patio where a wheelchair-user could fit, and an uncanny number of booths, some that were raised several feet off of the ground, that would not be sufficient.

Another notable roadblock that we ran into during our time at Shakespeare’s was the height of the counter where you receive your meal. The countertop was nearly the same height as Angela, making it extremely difficult for a wheelchair user to have independence when picking up their food. 

Finally, as our date needed to use the restroom in Shakespeare’s before we headed to our next date spot, we soon realized how uncomfortable and difficult one trip would be. The road to the bathroom was not only long and windy, making it unnecessarily difficult for someone with a disability to navigate, but the cobblestone bricks also made for an uneven, bumpy path. While the bathroom itself had a large, spacious accessible stall with three handrails, Shakespeare’s was overall not the most accessible, making the spot a bit stressful for the date despite the delicious pizza. 

Silverball 

The idea of going to Silverball seemed ideal for a date idea. However, we were unaware of all the roadblocks we would encounter. Silverball, unfortunately is not an accessible location. 

Walking up to Silverball, it looked hopeful for a fun time with our date, there seemed to be a lot of room and the door was pretty wide. However, that was possibly the only high of the date other than their good drinks. Once entering, we noticed that the first row of arcade games were on a single step platform, already making the main floor inaccessible to the majority of the games. There was one game right next to the platform however, it was a virtual game that you would have to sit inside of.

We continued to walk and noticed that the only access to the upstairs of Silverball were all through big staircases, no elevators present to help increase access to the games above. Our hopes for a fun time for our entertainment part of the date are pretty low right now, we go all the way to the back of the main entrance and there is a foosball table, however depending on our dates disability, it wouldn’t even be an option due to how tall it is or lack of leg space underneath it, the same goes for the air hockey game right next to it. There is a new expanded area to Silverball that is really open and spacious, however their only seating is at the bar and some booths that do have some leg room underneath and that are pretty tall, most of the time it isn’t busy so this could be an alternative location not necessarily for entertainment but maybe just to get a drink and chat!

Moral of the story, the “S” in Silverball stands for none other but stairs. 

Starbucks at Memorial Union

When we were walking from the downtown area to Memorial Union, it was clear that the sidewalks and parts of campus such as Lowry Mall was not the best for an individual in a wheelchair. But Memorial Union did have an accessible side entrance that was not far from the main sidewalk area, and it was newer and well lit up. We did check out the other ramp entrance in the back, and there was barely any lighting so it was not safe.

While we were in Memorial Union there were ramps to get to Starbucks, and to the main area of seating. When looking inside of Starbucks, there was a significant amount of room to get around. Inside of Starbucks, there was seating that was accessible, but there was also a high table that was not accessible. We decided to move towards the main part of the seating area, and the tables and chairs were able to be moved around. There were a lot of tables and chairs so it was hard to get around, but they were able to be moved around. Memorial Union also does have hallways that have enough room, and we could have moved to a more private area as well. Memorial Union does have a functioning elevator too and allowed for enough room. Memorial Union was definitely the most accessible place for the date. It was nice to end on a higher note when it came to the date, and seeing a much more accessible place. 

Victoria P & Chad hit the town!!!

Lolo Davis, Hannah Moore, and Mikaela Ashley 

Accessible Date

Victoria F and Chad are embarking on their first romantic meeting and date over dinner, ice cream for dessert, and a concert to highlight their night. Victoria F is a TV personality and former contestant from The Bachelor, on Pilot Pete’s season. Bachelor Nation has mixed and fiery views about Victoria F as she has displayed narcissistic tendencies and gaslighting conversation tactics. Chad is a hunky man who was in a car accident when he was a young child; resulting in him losing the mobility of his legs and has since been using a power chair as his mode of primary transportation. Chad is not ashamed or uncomfortable by his power chair lifestyle as he knows it is not a reflection of his personality or what all he can physically do. He and Victoria F met on Tinder and quickly clicked over Tinder messaging, and let it be noted that in Chad’s pictures he shows off his power chair and told Victoria F about his childhood car accident. Victoria F did not want to seem shallow or inconsiderate by not going on the date with Chad as she was physically attracted to him and enjoyed their online conversations. They agreed to meet for dinner at 6:30 at Addison’s, both using their own transportation to get there. Chad remembered about the True/False Festival and the concert they throw every year at The Blue Note and bought two tickets for he and Victoria F. 

For the first phase of Victoria and Chad’s night they decided it was time to eat dinner. Victoria and Chad decided to meet at Addison’s downtown because of their reputation for having the best nachos in town. Chad and Victoria both live downtown, so Addison’s was a common meeting place for the two of them to meet. When they got to the restaurant, they realized that the doors open outward to the street and not inward to the interior of the building. Not only do they open to the street, but they are also really heavy. They also don’t have an automatic door. Depending on someone’s upper body strength, they may struggle to open the door or need assistance. When they got into the restaurant, they were able to be seated at a table where one of the chairs could be moved to make it easier for Chad to eat comfortably. The restrooms at Addison’s have two doors. First, one has to open a door to enter a hallway where the bathrooms are, then open a second door to get into the bathrooms. While we did not enter the men’s bathroom, the women’s bathroom is large enough to be able to use the restroom comfortably and has sufficient railings on the walls. 

When dinner wrapped up, and Chad generously paid, they still had a decent amount of time to kill before the concert. Victoria said ice cream was her favorite dessert and Chad had been craving Sparky’s Ice Cream for awhile, so they decided to make the brisk walk to Sparky’s. As Chad powered down the sidewalk, he zipped around dips and bumps so his chair wouldn’t tip over. Victoria, having never realized the true condition of the sidewalks, was amazed at how crumbly and cracked the sidewalks were the true extent they have on power chair users. She expressed sorrow and sympathy to Chad and how it must be stressful to constantly think and be cautious to these conditions, but Chad wasn’t phased by it. He spoke about how he has gotten used to it and it doesn’t let it bother him as much but instead just looks at it as something he has to do. Victoria, however, kept pescuring and pushing about the condition that it started to rub Chad the wrong way. He began to get frustrated and annoyed with Victoria and how he felt like she was looking down on him and seeing him only in his power chair and not for the person that he is. The two eventually got to Sparky’s and enjoyed their ice cream. Chad felt like he and Victoria had finally gotten over the topic of his power chair. When it came time to leave for the concert, and The Blue Note being slightly an uphill trek, Victoria brought the topic right back up and continued to talk in what felt like a condescending tone to Chad about the hill.

The walk to The Blue Note was Victoria talking, and Chad rolling alongside silently. Chad was upset because the conversation they had at Addison’s and over Tinder were fantastic and had emotional depth. Now he felt like Victoria only saw him in a power chair and hoped the concert will finally get her off the topic of the “reality he is living in.” The Blue Note practices proper security measures to ensure safety of their paying guests. Victoria walks through the medal wanding station and lets her bag be searched, but then questions and fights the security official who begins to wand down an already annoyed Chad. Once finally in the doors, Chad and Victoria walk into the main hall and enjoy the concert. They share laughs, belt out the songs, and rekindle the spark Chad felt like they had at Addison’s and Tinder. They both joked about how neither of them have gone to the bathroom yet and decided to take a quick break from the concert to do so. The Blue Note has bathrooms on the main level, but it is a single service bathroom. The line was ridiculously long, 13-17 people deep, for both the women's and men’s bathroom. Victoria said she knew they had stall bathrooms upstairs, and asked an employee where the elevator was to get to the second floor. The employee informed her there was not an elevator and apologized for the inconvenience. Victoria was outraged by the situation and cursed the employee for both being fully ADA accessible. Chad’s face became severely flushed as Victoria caused a massive scene. He repeatedly asked Victoria to stop and calm down, that it was fine, and the scene she was making made him upset. She didn’t listen to him and continued to “fight for his right.”

At the end of the concert, Victoria and Chad may have wanted to go back to go back to Victoria’s place back at Brookside Midtown. Victoria lives on the second floor of a building that does not have an elevator, which triggered Victoria like it did at The Blue Note. The entrance into the first floor of the building is accessible for Chad because it has a ramp and not stairs. The only place that would have been accessible for Chad would be the study area on the first floor and that does not offer much privacy if things started to get hot and heavy. If Victoria lived on the first floor, the apartment could have not been completely accessible. On the Brookside Midtown website, the apartments do say that they are “wheelchair accessible”, but my assumption is that they would be specific rooms and not every room on the first floor. Assuming that Victoria does not live in a handicap accessible room, her bathroom may not be accessible. After careful consideration, Chad and Victoria did not decide to pursue their relationship further. We wish the best for both of them as they continue their dating endeavours. 

Cripping the City - Nicole ~ Francisco ~ Ashton

Personal Travel Narrative

A Date to Remember

Aaaah first dates. An event that can be both awkward and exciting. Whether it’s your first time meeting a person, or a long time friend that you’re testing the waters with, it can be an overwhelming experience. When you’re going on a date with an individual with a disability, this adds another element to the day. Are your plans accessible? The Cripping the city project was the opportunity to explore just that. 

The city of Columbia is notorious for having poorly paved sidewalks, especially downtown. So when you’re traveling somewhere with someone in a wheelchair this can add an obstacle to the date. When we traveled downtown we noticed multiple places where the roads were unkept and bumpy to the point where we had to switch sides of the roads.

One place where this was not an issue was in front of the new School of Music building. We chose this as our meeting spot because of the location and the smoothness of the newly paved sidewalks. 

We decided that for the entertainment part of our date we would go to RagTag theater. RagTag is a Columbia staple and a great place to have a romantic evening and watch a nice movie. Although it was easily accessible to get in the door there were some tight spaces to actually get into the theater. Once in the theater there were very few wheelchair accessible spaces and they were all in the front of the theater to where we would have to look up at the screen. It was still doable, and I’m sure it would be rather enjoyable however, it was something to think about for future visits. 

Our next plan was to go get food. On our way to go get food however, we noticed a small alleyway that we thought would be a great place for private time if it was darker outside. Maybe not super intimate during broad daylight but definitely a place for a goodbye kiss at the end of a night downtown. 

After our short alley stop, our mind was back on the meal. Francisco had the idea of going to India’s House however, Nicole is allergic to the oil they use in their food so that was a no-go for our group. Allergies are also another important thing to think about when planning a date, just as a side note! With allergies in mind we decided to go to a little more, an asian style poke bowl restaurant famously known for their rolled ice cream. The entrances were easily accessible, the restaurant itself had wide walkways and easy access to seating that was wheelchair accessible. It checked off all of our marks and the really kind people who worked there made it even better! One of the employees had even done this project before. After the employees complemented us on our awesome shoe choices (crocs) we decided to head out to find some real alone time, not just an alley with the fact that it was noon on a Saturday in our minds.

We decided to head back to campus and go to Memorial Union. Memorial is a great place for some alone time on the weekends because almost no one is there except for a few people studying on the main floor and the Starbucks workers. So, we headed to the basement using wheelchair accessible and assistance button doors and an elevator. In the basement there are multiple chairs and couches that could make any afternoon comfy. The quiet area was certainly private and would make for a great place to talk and get to know each other. Possibly learn enough about each other to plan a second date?

We as a group really enjoyed this project. It was eye opening, fun and informative. However, something did come to mind as we were doing the project. If this were to have been a real date with a real individual with a disability would you have to plan everything ahead of time to be sure that everything is accessible? It’s something we had never thought about before and something that opened our eyes to just how inaccessible our world can be at times. This was an incredible experience however and although there were times where it could be difficult, I think we planned a pretty great date. It’s also exciting to note that even though Columbia businesses and the Mizzou campus aren’t perfect, they are making an effort when it comes to accessibility.

Accessibility Date: Megan, Lilliya, Madison

Personal Travel Narrative 

Our ideal accessible date began with dinner at Uprise Bakery in downtown Columbia. Luckily, Uprise Bakery has an accessible entrance wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair. We decided to go out on a Thursday evening, so the bakery would be fairly busy. Despite this, our date was able to move around freely and fit comfortably under one of the lower tables at Uprise Bakery. Unfortunately, both the counter and bar were high, making it hard for our date to order food and drinks. 

If our date needed to use the restroom, Uprise Bakery has one accessible restroom past the movie theater entrance of Ragtag Cinema. The bathroom had an accessible entrance, three grab bars, and a roll under sink. Despite having to wheel through the movie theater, this bathroom is completely accessible and appropriately designed for disabled individuals. 

In case the date gets a little slow, we could move the meeting into Ragtag Cinema, The cinema had a wide entrance and reserved seats specifically for wheelchair users. Additionally, the furniture is moveable to make the theater more accessible. 

Uprise Bakery is not perfectly accessible, but have at least made efforts to make their location more accessible. The accessible entrances, low tables and accessible bathrooms make it a good dinner spot for our date!

Next for our entertainment, we took a 4 minute stroll to get to Harpo’s sports bar! Harpo’s has two entry ways, one on Cherry St. and one on 9th St. The only accessible one for our date would be the 9th St. entrance due to the other having stairs right after walking through the door. The 9th street entrance allows one to wheel right into the bar. 

To order a drink, we could either go to the bar, which was rather tall. If we were lucky and the bar was not busy, there were plenty of tables at the appropriate height, which a waitress would come serve. Yet, if the bar was busy or even remotely full, it would be hard to find comfortable seating, or even order a drink. Also, the only access is the main floor. The only way to get upstairs is by stairs. 

When it comes to the bathrooms in Harpo’s, the entrance was wide enough to fit one with a wheelchair, but sadly, inside the bathroom there is no room or any stalls actually fit for such  situation. This part of the date did not go as well as planned.

Finally, we have decided to move on to our privacy-time location. We chose The Tiger Hotel in downtown Columbia since it is close to the spots of meal and entertainment. Unlike the dorm where you might have a roommate, a hotel suite guarantees privacy and comfort amenities such as room service. 

To get to The Tiger Hotel from Ragtag theater, we took a roll via E Broadway and the pedestrian road and crosswalks were accessible. It took about 5 minutes to get to the location.

As soon as we got to the hotel, we saw automated doors at the entrance. 

As soon as we rolled through them, we saw large numbers of staircases leading to the lobby level. However, staff members pointed out the large elevator left to the entrance. We took it to the lobby. We also want to point out that the hotel had an accessible bathroom one level higher then lobby for all visitors.

To book the room, we had a conversation with staff at the registration desk. We were not able to look at the room itself since it was booked, but here is an information from the manager:

‘We have select king or junior suite rooms (junior suites only have a king bed in them) that are ADA accessible. One specifically has a roll-in shower where as the others have a small lip, but all have bars and seats.’

Photo from http://www.aaa.com/ 

After the check in in order to get to the room, visitors need to use another elevator. However, size of it’s door is only 32 in, so this might cause certain issues.