CripMO

India's House

We started off our date by meeting at India’s House for the lunch buffet. Upon immediately entering, we noticed the steeply sloping ramp up to the main entrance from the sidewalk. After the first door, there is a small, tight foyer that leads to a second door. Both doors open outward, and the foyer is narrow*. Neither door has an automatic switch nor a motion sensor for an automatic door. We were seated at a table for four. The table for four, in fact, as there was only one table for four, with every other seating option being a small booth set for two or a single table sized for eight. The table itself measured 27 inches to the underside, with the top of table being measured at 29 inches. Our table met the minimum requirement for wheelchair accessibility, but for people with longer legs or who sit higher in wheel chairs, it would be harder to fit at the table comfortably. One of us asked for a menu and received one: a menu with small print, which could be difficult for people with varying degrees of sight. There was not a Braille menu offered. The buffet, which is a popular choice, was 34 inches high. Measurements for depth, in order to reach across the buffet table and serve food, were 15 inches deep  All the food signs were much higher than the food, approximately 5 feet above the ground, which would be difficult to read comfortably from a wheelchair. No food signs were in Braille, either. The walkway between the booths and tables by the buffet were narrow*, and in a busier time, it would be difficult to navigate for a person in a wheelchair. The counter where the cash register was located was around 4 ft tall where someone in a chair would have to pass money above eye level and would be unable to sign credit card receipts from that position without writing against the glass wall of the counter. India’s House is, however, very good with providing allergen information.

At the back of the restaurant, there was a door marked ‘restrooms'. Beyond that door, also not automatic and also opening outward, there was a short hallway containing the entrances to the women and men’s restrooms. The bathroom hallway was 37 in wide, which is a close fit for wheelchairs and would require a sharp turn to be able to enter the women’s restroom. Inside the bathroom there was no bar on the wall next to the toilet to assist in moving from the chair to the toilet; the sink was 30 inches high and it was 27 inches from the sink edge to the faucet, making it difficult to turn on the water; the soap dispenser was 40 inches high, the paper towel machine was 54 inches high and also would be difficult to turn for people who might not have fine motor coordination in the fingers. The mirror was 59 inches high, which was difficult to see into in order to check one’s appearance, as one might reasonably wish to do on a date. As we exited the restaurant after paying, we wanted to officially measure the foyer, the width of the outside door, and the height of the slope. After a few seconds into our attempts, the manager came out and requested we stop measuring, as we made it look as though we were trying to buy the building, which was hurting the business.

*Throughout our date as we measured various things, the owner seemed uncomfortable with what we were doing, even though we tried to explain it was for class. We were not able to measure everything we noted.

Leaving before we were kicked out

From there we decided our entertainment would be to enjoy the nice day and window-shop, perhaps entering stores which looked interesting or had good sales. As we crossed intersections, the crosswalk lights did not have a speaking option, and we did not notice a texture shift at the crosswalks that are supposed to indicate entering the street. We noticed a lot of curb cuts where the slopes were not too steep and wide enough to pass a single walker or a wheelchair. The sidewalks were all in pretty decent condition, though were a bit narrow when crowded.

Yellow Dog Bookstore

Our first stop was the Yellow Dog Bookstore. The entrance is an immediate and very steep slope in a very small shop. In our opinion, this shop was the least accessible. There were extremely narrow walkways in between the shelves of books ,and the small children’s room had a curb in the doorway, as well as shelving units protruding into the narrow doorway. We didn’t see a section for audio books or Braille books, and all the shelves were extremely high, with many books out of reach for someone in a wheelchair, particularly the erotica section. We saw Crip Theory in the LGBTQ section, ironically, however. Maybe they haven’t read it yet. The checkout counter seemed low enough to be accessible.

Boone Olive Oil Co.

Next door was the grand opening of Boone Olive Oil Co. We went in and participated in an olive oil tasting, where we cheered to disability and sex! How romantic. All the tables with samples were low, and the aisles were very wide. The canisters of olive oils and balsamic vinegars on the wall were too high to reach, though. Many of the pretty bottles were low enough to grab, and were in fact placed notably lower than we had noted in India’s House or Yellow Dog. However, none of the signs were in Braille, even though they had large text. Both the checkout counter and many of the shelves with yummy products were high and difficult to reach. The packaged pastas and chocolates clearly stated their potential allergens.

Peace Park

From the olive oil tasting, we made our way to Peace Park where we were serenaded by marching drums so we could have private time together and watch puppies. We noticed curb cuts from the street on our way and debated whether or not the grass and ground were too rough to access with a wheelchair, given the uneven terrain and the many sticks which could catch a wheel. All the benches that were open were ‘off-road’, so to speak, though we did see a couple benches that were on the sidewalk but taken. After lingering in the park chatting and watching the puppies playing, we ended our date. On our walk home, a man from a passing car yelled obscenities out the window at us. Nothing like some good old romantic street harassment to set the mood. Honk to end catcalls! 

Reflection

We did not plan our privacy and entertainment options in advance, as one of our members has difficulties processing stimulation and cannot say in advance what she may be able to manage. For her comfort, we were deliberately flexible in our plans, so as not to make her uncomfortable or feel as though she would have to watch a movie if she could not parse that much stimulation at the time.

Reflecting back after the date, we thought that it most likely was not a coincidence that the newest business that we visited was the most accessible. Most of the buildings downtown are old, so space is limited anyway, but for the newer businesses issues of accessibility may be a more pressing concern. While we are not knowledgeable about the history of India’s House, the Yellow Dog Bookstore recently replaced another bookstore and uses the same space. Space restrictions obviously make accessibility more difficult, but creative solutions can address these problems. 

Members of our group expressed that this experience made them think differently or start thinking about the less obvious aspects of accessibility (heights of counters, navigating crowded spaces, weather changes), planning and time management, dynamics between people on the date, and navigating wants and needs. We previously thought of physical accessibility issues as things like broken sidewalks, narrow doorways, and stairs, but we realized that we had to consider heights of counters, buffets tables, shelves, signs, mirrors, and bathroom soap dispensers. We also had our date early in the day, so we missed the lunch rush, but during a busier time of the day we would have had a harder time navigating sidewalks and tight spaces. Our planning and time management also relied on flexibility for weather and awareness of activity levels. Fortunately, all of the places we wanted to visit during the date were accessible, but we also discussed that when planning an outing, people usually choose based on what they want to do or feel like doing, but when faced with accessibility issues, they would have to factor in where they are able or feel comfortable going. During our date, when we were examining the accessibility of the buffet, we also had to think about the relationship dynamic. For instance, if a person in a wheelchair could not access the buffet, their partner might have to help make them a plate or otherwise help them get to the food. Finally, we spent some time as a group debriefing the moment of street harassment. We talked a little about what it meant to be someone in a public space who is under the scrutiny of strangers. We are four women with no physical markers of a disability and were still subject to harassment. We can only imagine that this would have been magnified if one or all of us had been in a wheelchair. Also, the comment was very sexual in nature and from what we have learned in class about people with disabilities being seen as asexual, our best guess is that the man would have been less likely to have said that same sentence if we had been wheelchair users. This example of street harassment gets at the social rather than physical barriers that one might face during a date, as well as highlights the important intersectional nature of disability and other identities.