Viewing the World Differently

Accessible Date – Stephen Barnes

            My girlfriend and I had been planning a date for this weekend for some time now. With both of our busy schedules it has been hard to find quality time with one another.  So I decided to use this opportunity to look at the world from someone with a disability. Neither one of us has a disability, so I decided to just imagine that one of us suffered from leg paralysis because I have a close family member who is paralyzed.  For our date we went to Red Top Mountain to hike.  Automatically I figured this would be a bad place to go if one was disabled, but it is something I love to do so we went anyway. It was fun experience but also a little challenging at times.

Accessibility:

            When going hiking while being in a wheelchair, accessibility can be a huge issue. Before we went to Red Top Mountain, I looked at their website to see if it was even possible for someone in a wheelchair to go hiking there. To my surprise, the website said that Red Top Mountain was wheelchair friendly. When we got there, I have to say that it was pretty wheelchair friendly for a mountain, but it was not perfect. First off, there were not many handicapped spots at the place we parked. Also, at first the trails were pretty easy to get through with a wheelchair, but then the trails became hard to navigate. As we got deeper in out hike, we started to see a lot of uneven ground, rocks and uneven bridges that made it really hard for a wheelchair to go on.

 When we went out to eat later it was not very easy for a handicapped person to park. The restaurants handicapped parking was closer to starbucks than it was to the restaurant. They also put the handicap ramp far away from the door, making it more difficult for someone with a wheelchair to get to the restaurant.

Comfort:

            We both felt completely comfortable the whole time while hiking. The place was really open and really spacious. When we got to the restaurant it was a little more uncomfortable due to tight spaces in the restaurant. At first they were going to put us in one of those tight area, but I asked them if they could move us to a more open area (just so I could see if they had one). They very politely took us to a more spacious area where we could better enjoy our food. While we were eating, we were completely comfortable and the waiting staff was extremely friendly. 

Crowding:

            At Red Top Mountain it was very spacious due to the wide trails and the small number of people who were there.  This made for an enjoyable experience while hiking. When we got to the restaurant it was a little more crowded making it slightly uncomfortable. We were moved to another room where there were few people making it less crowded.

Legibility:

            The hiking trails were easy to maneuver at first, but it became difficult as we went along due to the lack of directional sings that were on the trail. It was impossible to tell how far you had gone down the trail. The restaurant was a lot easier to find your way. The staff was very helpful in show us our seat and our menus.

Adaptability:

Red Top Mountain, for the most part, was not very adaptable.  It is extremely hard to really change the conditions of a hiking trail. With that being said, I do think they can fix some of the holes in the trails, add some more handicapped parking and put up more signs along the trails. On the other hand, the restaurant is more adaptable. They easily moved us to a less crowded area where someone with a disability could feel more comfortable.

Sociality:

            At Red Top there was a lot of room to be able to talk to one another while hiking. At the restaurant it was also easy to communicate with one another comfortably. There was a good bit of space where we were sitting, making it easy for us to hold a conversation.

Privacy:

            There was a lot of privacy at Red Top since there were not many people there. If it were a crowded day, it would be harder to be completely private but not terrible. The restaurant was a little less private. It was crowded so it made it hard to feel completely private. However, there are more private rooms within the restaurant.

Meaning:

            After my observations, I feel that someone with a disability would feel more comfortable at home. When we went on our date, I feel like the places we went to were not able to completely meet the needs of a disabled individual. Making it more desirable to be at home, in some ways.

            Overall, this was a great date and an eye opening experience. This assignment really opened my eyes to another world.