Photo Of The Day

Soho ... From Hypermobile Tumblr blog

Accessibility Reporting Sites ... What Are We Waiting For?

I live in Upstate New York, about an hour's drive from Montréal, so the Montréal Gazette is one of my almost-daily reads. A little over a month ago, I read an article in the Gazette about OnRouleMontréal a website where people can submit information on wheelchair accessibility features of Montréal area businesses, and, eventually, the site will become a reliable accessibility guide for wheelchair users in the area. It reminded me of a post I did earlier in the summer about sites like this.

I thought they were a great idea, and resolved to do my part to add accessibility reviews of as many places in my local area as I could. I then promptly forgot all about it, and checking the two sites I have bookmarked, I see that as far as I can tell, the only reviews of my area are the three I added originally.

So, I'm just reminding myself to get going and add more reviews. And if you are reading this, and are interested in advocating for more accessibility, you should, too. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that if you ever complain about poor accessibility, the weakness of the ADA, or the willful ignorance of business owners who still claim to not know where to start, then you really must contribute to one or both of these sites. As the saying goes, it's not sufficient, but it is necessary. And it's easy.

Click the links to get to the websites, where you can create a free account and start entering your reviews:

AbleRoad

AXS Map

Ironside - First Impressions

Sigh. The gulf in "Ironside" between the quality of the disability stuff and the quality of the show overall is even wider than it is in "The Michael J. Fox Show". "Ironside's" pilot episode contains some beautiful, even revolutionary scenes about the main character's disability. There are also a few decent disability quips and one-liners. The show looks great, too. Unfortunately, the storytelling is sloppy and patchy, and the dialog is, at times, awful, to the point of being unintentionally funny. There are several ways "Ironside" can improve, and capitalize on what the show gets right about disability, so I'm not giving up hope yet. I really want to like "Ironside", but it's going to be a struggle. I'll post a full review this weekend. In the meantime, you can watch "Ironside" on Hulu Plus.