Everyday we go to many different places, and we’re so used to going to certain places we don’t really pay attention or notice how accesible or lack of accessibility there might be for others.
At the moment I work at Ross, I believe it is pretty accessible, but they could improve more. For instance, there are only two disabled parking spots, they are right in front of the door, but I think there should be more at least. From the parking lot there is a little ramp for easier access and the doors open automatically. The way some products are set, are too high up for some people to reach and they wouldn’t be accessible to everyone but there is always assistance from employees available. The biggest issue I have seen regarding accessibility are the restrooms, there are handicapped restrooms but to get inside you need to go through two doors, when I have been there if a person in a wheelchair needs to use the restroom it is almost impossible for them to get in without assistance of someone holding the doors open for them.
I live in apartments and I think the apartments aren’t super accessible, there are a lot of steps to get to the second or third floors which might be difficult for a person with any impairment, they would just be able to live on the first floor if it is available. Also, in the area to get to the pool and gym, there are three doors in total and one of them doesn’t have a ramp with would mean a person would have to go around to one of the other doors which isn’t far but still a hassle to get to. The laundry room is even worse, there are no rampa and the only way to get in would have to be going through one of the pool doors available and going across exiting and entering the laundry room. Around my house though, there are a lot of transportation availabilities, for instance there are buses at each side of the apartment building and they take you straight to the Bart station where there are other buses to go to nearby cities and the area around Concord too.
The library consists of only one floor, there are available parking spots for handicapped, as well as ramps to get into the library. The doors for the library open automatically as well. There are librarians to help in anything anyone needs right at the door. This library has technology available such as large screen monitors, large print keyboards, 3x handheld magnifiers, ZoomText, t-coil looping (assistive hearing device), and NVDA text-to-speech. They also have video magnifiers that magnify images, text and even 3-D objects up to 70 times their original size, they also have c-pen reader pens, these pens reads text aloud in English and Spanish, they can be used in library or checked out, they have rolling walkers as well available for anyone that need it.
This grocery store is right across from my house and I think it is accessible. There are a couple handicapped parking lots, and a ramp to be able to go inside and the doors open automatically as well. The isles are really wide and accessible, there are a lot of employees throughout the store if any one needs assistance with anything. There are self-scan areas as well as cashiers helping so anyone could choose one or the other.
This is the schools’ Recreation and Wellnes Center,it’s not in my town but I do go here often and thought it would be a good place to choose. think this building is designed pretty well acording to acessibility. There is a ramp at the door, and the doors open automatically. To go to the second floor there is an elevator abailable and the walking areas are really spacecious. There are also students helping in every floor making sure everyone is doing good and if anyone needs assistance. There are rooms available too for anyone that just needs to be by themselves and do their own thing if they don’t like being where there is much noise or want to do other things that are not weights.
From now on, I’ll probably notice accessibility issues everywhere I go and notice whether my town is doing good or it needs to be better yet.
Alejandra's Blog 
Hi Alejandra,
I like the way you began your post with noting that we as people with no disabilities or impairments would often not notice the lack of accessibility in our day to day environments. You bring up a good point in regards to the difficulty people in wheelchairs have when it comes to opening doors. I think it would be helpful for the Ross store to invest in adding automatic doors that include a button or other times just a sensor to automatically open doors.
I can relate to what you said about the apartments, I used to live in a similar neighborhood in Alameda. It was pretty inaccessible due to the many many stairs. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for people in wheelchairs, to get around in their own living spaces, like the laundry and gym area.
In regards to the apartments it really makes me think that due to the lack of accessibility and often times availability, does this deter people with disabilities and impairments from renting in certain areas or complexes? Do you think the property management tends to market away from people with disabilities and impairments?
Thanks,
Alma Bartolome
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Hello Alma,
Thank you for taking the time to read my post. Actually, Ross does have automatic doors that open with a sensor so anyone can come in no matter what easier. That is a great question I haven’t thought of before, I think that the correct answer to both your questions might be yes. Depending on how the areas are planed out, people probably decide whether or not it would work for them which would indeed make them not want to rent from certain places. Although there shouldn’t be an exclusion at all, I feel like there have probably been instances where they do exclude people with disabilities and impairments, others are probably very helpful in finding a way to make it easier for them to live there.
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Hello Alejandra,
The RAW center is designed really well with elevators and a help desk so people can get their questions answered. I wonder if they have trainers for students with impairments? I like how they have a track upstairs with multiple lanes and equipment in quieter areas incase people don’t do well around crowds.
thanks for sharing,
Brittany
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Hello Brittany,
That is a great question, I’m not sure about that, I have seen that there are many trainers to help, I’m sure some of them are also trained in helping students with impairments.
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