Menu Close

GETTING YOUR PRIORITIES RIGHT – DISABLED ACCESS AROUND THE WORLD

Here at Axess2, we’re passionate about proper disabled access, which is why we take such pains over the provision of quality disabled lifts. In our book, nobody should be excluded from anywhere purely because of a mobility issue, and that’s why it saddens us to see headlines continually cropping up suggesting problems in this area. In particular, we’ve noticed that The Guardian has a lot to say on the subject of late, and it’s not just the UK where issues are being reported. Read on to find out more…

Paraplegic - Wheelchair

San Francisco – How Not to Do It

You’d hope that in a case where the provision of better disabled access and better coffee facilities were in competition, there would be no contest; you’d always go for disabled access, right? Well, accusations have been levelled at one bus line in San Francisco over this exact issue, as apparently they’ve opted for the opposite route. The organisation in question is named Leap, and the space for wheelchairs has allegedly been filled with leather seating and a coffee bar. Although adjustments are supposed to be ongoing to solve the issue, you do have to wonder why this was ever allowed to happen in the first place. Surely a bus shouldn’t be refined to include disabled access just as an afterthought? If there’s a more pressing priority to base a design around, we can’t think of one.

sign - parking lot for wheelchair

Gigs and Concerts – Bettering Accessibility

As we said earlier, a disability shouldn’t prevent someone from enjoying something, and music is a great case in point. However, according to another article, the venues for many live music events have a long way to go, as at present, they aren’t doing enough. Not every such facility can be 100% accessible, but where a situation can be bettered it should be. Strong calls are now in place to encourage participation from smaller clubs, and for creative provision to be a real priority. Just because one example of disabled access can’t be offered, why not look to supply assistance in other areas? As an extra incentive, such habits are great for a business’s image, so why are they so rare?

The Election – A Manifesto for Disabled Access?

Lyfta-M-Feature-Image-274x438

There’s great uncertainty surrounding the government of the country in the forthcoming election, but whoever gets into power, how about they ensure that the polling stations are disabled access-friendly in time for the next polling day? Yep, you probably know where we’re going with this! Yet another Guardian story relates how a colossal proportion of UK polling stations – as many as two thirds, in fact – are guilty of harbouring substantial disabled access issues, and embarrassingly, even the disability minister’s office is ill-equipped to welcome wheelchair users. To quote the article, ‘disabled people are quite literally shut out of politics’. Seeing as though that can be around 15,000 voters per constituency, this doesn’t seem like a smart move, and we can only hope that it’ll change.

Clearly, the problem of disabled assistance and access is an ongoing one the world over, and even though notable progress has been made in many areas, it’s very frustrating to see the same old issues resurfacing, or even becoming worse in select situations. At Axess2, we can’t help to assuage the concerns in every instance where disabled access is a problem, but we can certainly assist you to improve such provision in your own domestic or commercial premises. Our lifts are some of the most advanced you’ll find, and if every building in the country utilised such technology, it’d make a massive difference. Maybe one day! If you’d like to find out more, call 01200 405 005 today.