Cripping CoMO

as experienced by Hannah Garrighan, Samantha Gerke, Kelly Jonske, and Erin Morris 

Meal

First attempt: Freebirds

To kick off our awesome date, we took a fifteen-minute walk downtown to grab dinner at a nearby restaurant. We initially went to Freebirds, but were immediately put off by the steps at the front entrance. There was a side entrance, but there was a bit of a bump to get over to enter the restaurant. Furthermore, there were more stairs to ascend in order to select what ingredients we wanted in our custom meals.

Try two: BBCII

We decided to instead venture over to BBCII, a much better choice. Our date could easily enter the building, and there was so much space between the seating that people could get around the wheelchair without any trouble. There was a seating area that was only accessible via a couple stairs, but there was plenty of other seating available, including an outdoor patio where a wheelchair user could easily pull up to one of the tables. In addition, there was a ramp to access the bar area. While the bar was still a little high to reach comfortably, the area itself was accessible. We noticed that the bathrooms could have been better as well. One of the stalls had railings, but the space was not ideal. The sink and soap dispenser were not terribly high up, but the mirror was impossible to use from a seated position. All in all, BBCII was a fairly good restaurant choice and we enjoyed our meal.

Entertainment

Next, we really wanted to find an entertaining activity we could become engaged in. We reasoned that, by sharing an experience more unique than say, a movie, fun memories would be made and a second date would be more likely. Our group decided to take the date painting. The Canvas is located right off of Broadway and Eighth Street. Since it is in the heart of downtown, we followed a pretty straightforward route from BBCII to The Canvas. The crosswalks were easy to access and cross. When you enter the building, the floor is flat and there are no stairs. The door is NOT automatic, so the person in a wheelchair would need the door held open for them, which is a potentially awkward situation. When setup to paint, the canvasses were situated on two long, open tables that are spaced far from each other - plenty of room. The tables are low enough so that the chair may be removed and a person in a wheelchair can wheel up to the table to end up at the same height as the other painters. The easel is within arm's length so painting can take place without reaching. There are two single-stall restrooms, one male and one female. Both have handrails for accessing the toilet. The sink is low enough that one would not need to reach and strain for the faucets, and the mirror is angled so that one in a wheelchair could see themselves easily. Overall, this establishment gets a great accessibility rating from our group!

          

Private Time  ooh la la!

For the “private time” portion of our date, we took a walk through Peace Park on campus. From a general perspective, Peace Park seems fairly accessible. There is a lot of open space and minimal stairs involved, with a long pathway spanning the length of the park. However, the park is not very leveled, so the pathway can seem a bit steep at times, which could pose problems for someone using a wheelchair. The paving of the pathway has a number of cracks in it, making it difficult for the person using a wheelchair to move through the park smoothly.  There are quite a few benches sprinkled throughout the park that would be the ideal for spending some private time on. Unfortunately, the majority of these benches are on uneven grassy terrain, which is not ideal for someone using a wheelchair. There are a few benches that are close to the pathway and located on cement, which is a more accessible set up. Even so, the cement block that the benches are on do not expand to fit a wheelchair next to, which leaves the wheelchair user few options other than to go into the grass. This space created between the able bodied person on the bench and the wheelchair user provides for some awkward maneuvering.  Despite the few barriers of the structure of Peace Park, it is a fairly accessible location as far as private spaces in the very public atmosphere of downtown are concerned.