Rolling Rains Report:

Wikitravel

Inspired by Wikipedia Wikitravel set out in 2003 to provide unbiased up-to-date travel information. Keyword searches on "disabled" and "wheelchair access" result in some useful information - if only, in many cases, observations on how difficult wheelchair access might be!

Wikitravel

Fishing From the Cliffs of the Amalfi Coast

High above the surf - and I mean high, like several hundred feet - a small knot of anglers were wetting their lines over the edge of the (barely) two-lane Amalfi Highway. We had just crossed over a deep cleft in the rock where the bridge spanning it was the original Roman construction. We continued through a tunnel in the promontory that was blasted open as part of Mussolini's nationalization program when we came upon the group.

I have always enjoyed fishing - especially fly fishing using flies I have tied mayelf - one of the more active styles of fishing. I just might buy this gadget below for a day when I'm in the more sedentary mood necessary for baitcasting. But what I saw there along Italy's Amalfi coastline looked a little precarious than anything I've tried in a while.

I am not sure what they catch there - although I would wager that the long haul up from the water might make anything look like the dried fish in the market.

Anyway, I don't think I'd use the Wheelchair Fishing Pole Handler in that spot unless I knew my rope was tied off well and I had somebody sitting in belay position in case I caught anything heavier than an anchovy!

On Mercenary Blogging @ Zirma.com

Along with an endorsement of the Rolling Rains Report Zirma.com has a timely reflection on journalistic standards and the use and misuse of blogging.

Sponsored blogs and a conflict of interest

We could hypothesize that one of the reasons why many people read blogs is becase they find them more reliable. That is, they’re produced by common people, not professional journalists. In the travel area, newspapers supplements and magazine articles are not always quite believable. All of the destinations are beautiful and, apparently, the traveller never has greater problems. Facing this, bloggers stories, who generally travel as mere tourists to the destinations they visit and pay the ticket with their own money, are usually pretty different. No one treats them better, simply; they’re not journalists and no one knows they will write a note about that destination that will probably be read by thousands of people in the Internet.

But this is changing. For some months now, some tourism agencies in the United States have started to pay bloggers to make references to certain locations. The trend is strong enough to make journalist focus on it. For example, the newspaper USA Today dedicated a note to “sponsored bloggers” analyzing the cases of blogs that tell stories of travellers in Milwaukee and Philadelphia, but that are actually sponsored by the tourism offices of the place. The main problem is, at least in the case of Milwaukee, readers are not aware of the district’s “financial help”.

Source:
http://www.zirma.com/blog/tag/tourism-blogs/

An Exchange Student's Experience in Italy

Robin Smith reflects on an exchange program in Italy in "Observing Inclusive Education in Italy"

Her observations on travel as a person with a disability are worth quoting:

For people with disabilities, I would like to communicate about the interpersonal and intrapersonal aspects of exchange programs. A handicap I experienced was the difficulty of establishing natural friendships and having peer interactions that were not influenced by my having been introduced to my fellow sojourners as a person in need of assistance. Although I had a wonderful time and made excellent connections with some of my companions, near the end of the trip people were tired and functioning on "one cylinder," which resulted in some awkward moments of isolation. I would recommend asking if it makes better sense, when traveling as the only person with a disability on such an excursion, to have at least one peer with whom you have a prior relationship and who is not the main person designated to assist you. This should not be read as a negative but only as a question to pursue as part of the quest to overcome some barriers built into the American culture. While I’d choose to have this experience again, I can't help but wonder if those moments would have been different if "the children had belonged together" when we were in elementary school.

Charming International Hotel - Napoli Airport

Yep, that is the name of it, the "Charming International Hotel," a three star hotel backed up against the Napoli Airport. Part of the Italy Hotel Club the place has a slighly ramped entrance and a well designed accesible room on the first floor. Right across from the room is a terrace with a view of the busy street.

The door to the accessible room is extra wide. Light switches are toggle and at mid chest for someone sitting in an adult wheelchair. The shower is roll-in although rather small. It has a grab bar but no fold-don shower bench. (It quickly rusts wheel bearings to shower in a wheelchair. I alwas carry two extra sets for situations like these.) The sink height is adjustable. The toilet functions as a combined bidet. It has a notch cut out of the front of the bowl wide enough for the hand-held shower on the wall which is within easy reach.

Internet access is free and the hotel staff is attentive. The concierge explained that his cousin who uses a wheelchair and travels has educated him. Bravo!

The Charming International Hotel serves our purposes well as a place to wash up and rest before the intercontinental endurance test begins at 6 AM tomorrow. It may serve well for the budget minded as a place to wash up and sleep off jet lag for a first night in the Naples area - but it is not convenient to the city for easy sightseeing.

The neighborhood is not inviting for an evening "passegiatta" but La Luciana pizza restaurant three doors to the left is a gem. It is a family run neigbrhood institution - kids & neighbors stopping in, pizza flying out the door for delivery via moped.

Thirty-one varieties of pizza show up one the wall menu - but I am sure you can order a custom creation. We had the house specialty - a "rolled pizza" with the local (water) buffalo milk mozzarela, arrugula, and local ham. The chewy crust comes out of the wood fired oven looking like a dalmation with black spots on white.

Three steps to get in but, like I said, plenty of neighbors around to flex some muscles and heft you in or out.

Mangia!

Positano, Amalfi, & Ravello

The trio that defines "doing the Amalfi Coast" Positano, Amalfi, and Positano are a challenge by wheelchair!

In Positano we made it as far down the steep streets to the "Residencia Gioia." It was never clear to me if this was the home of the Gioia who invented the compass and launched Amalfi into worldwide naval history because, sitting at the top of the stairs to the church plaza below, I attracted an energetic team of waiters. They were on the way down the hill past me to their afternoon shift at "Le Tre Sorrelli" Restaurant right on the beach. Needless to say, after a bit of trilingual negotiation (Italian, English, and an improvised hybrid with lavish hand gestures), so was I!

The day was warm and wonderful. It is pre-season for tourists so only one other table was occupied at the restaurant. Of course, one of the two people at that table was from San Jose, California - a graduate of Presentation High School.

Returning was another adventure. Threading the byways of Postitano are small flatbed electric trucks. The waiters flagged one down and we hitched a ride back up to the upper level along with some svelte manequins as yet to be outfitted with this year s latest style -- or maybe clothing optional is this year s latest tstyle here, too early inn the season to tell.

Amalfi allowed our driver, Alfredo, to drive us all the way down to the beach with a drop off in front of a great seafood resaurant in the cove. That left only a short time for a photo of the Gioia statute on the beach and a peek at the stunning enclosed plaza at the foot of the church.

In Ravello disability again had its benefits.

The medeival archway to the town plaza was barricaded to motorized traffic and guarded by the carabineiri. Alfredo got us through and we spent a few afternoon minutes enjoying the picturesque square.

By the way, my bout of Scrooge consciousness passed soon after Alfredo picked us up. He got an acceptable tip for his services. I expect he will use it to visit his finacee. She lives across the town street from us -- Los gatos, Caliofornia.

Piccolo mondo!

Design for Here in the Mezzogiorno - Capture the Sun!

I am on vacation. I don't need a brief case for a couple weeks. But if I did, I'd want one from Voltaic. With its three photovoltaic panels for recharging the Rolling Rains Report camera I could sure use a wheelchair bag version.

Maybe I'll talk to the Gucci artisans up the road and see what they can whip up for me.

On second thought, maybe I'll just go sip a Limoncello. Seems like as good an excuse as any to head across the bay to Capri...

Capri Across the Strait

Capri lies to the West, Naples to the North, and the skyline's dominant feature, Mount Vesuvius, to the Northeast across the Bay of Naples from here in the Grand Hotel Royal in Sorrento. Set right cliffside above its own private beach (elevator closed until May) the hotel commands an unforgettable view day or night. Built about 100 years ago and annually updated it has a venerable feel of comfortable grandeur the marble tiled lobby is full of laquered dark wood furniture embellished with the region's famous inlay work.

The first room we were assigned on the second floor while designated wheelchair accessible and with grab bars in the bathroom had a doorway far too narrow for my narrow adult manual chair. To their credit the porter quickly arranged for an upgrade to the third floor. This room, with a few adjustments like removing the bathroom door, can be made to work but lacks either a rolling shower or usable bathtub. If this is the best available at Grand Hotel Royal I cannot recommend it based on accessbility to many with disabilities - especially if travelling alone. However, the level of customer service may make it right for the resilient and physically strong.

The owners of the Grand Royal and its siblings, the Maniello Hotels, we8re apparently told by Thompson travel agencyin the UK that they must adopt universal diesign or lose the steay stream of tourists booked through Thompson. To all appearances the owners have opted for obsolesence.

Today we are off to Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello by private tour. Note again, the agent tacked an extra ten Euro over the published price when they saw the wheelchair. Nowhere near as much as I would have tipped them on my own for an eight hour tour but certainly all they will likely receive after that slight of hand.

Mushroom Weather on Capri

Vladimir, my taxi driver to the airport on the start of the trip taught me two things.

First, that the idiom "raining cats & dogs" translates as nonsense into Russian (but he was able to tell me the history of the English origins of the phrase.)

Second, that when it "rains cats & dogs" on an otherwise warm & sunny day it is called "mushroom weather" in Russian. Mushrooms do well is warm dampness.

So today we experienced the "mushroom!s dream tour" of Capri.

Leaving Naples from the old Carmine Fort via hydrofoil for Capri we had partial sun amidst sprinkles. Waiting for the return boat we huddled in the front of a small resaurant admiring the lightning.

The first thing to do arriving in capril is to get up onto the northern plateau at Anacapri. With a wheelchair it will cost you whatever the whim of the taxi driver (no accessible busses) cares to charge you. That is 20 - 25 Euros today.

Fortunately, the narrow sidewalk/streets in this charming hilltop village are wheelchair navegable. Although not all shops are accessible none are very large and you can count on attentive shopkeepers to cater to your needs on the street if show the internationally recognizable signs of being a paying customer.

Worth the walk is a trip out to the cliffhanging walkway outside the Villa San Michele estate (now museum) of Axel Munthe.

Just the Other Side of the Alps

In an acute case of "the grass is greener on the other side" I find myself looking beyond Italy to the travel possibilities of Germany. The German barrier free tourism site has become quite a good resouce for English speakers with further links in German to National Tourism Coordination Agency for All People Federal Association for the Disabled

Accessible Lodging Database - Germany

It is under construction but here is a resource on accessible hotels in Germany:

http://barrierefrei.hotel-ami.de/h-deu-I

Mary Murphy-Hanson Conquers Rome

Mary Murphy-Hanson is involved in a love affair with Rome. According to the note on her list of accessibility tiips for Rome she should complete her work this month. See her work at Slow Traveler, Accssible Rome:

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/accessible/rome/index.htm

Offtrack in Naples

My Amtrak trek through Calofornia has me looking ahead to Italy - even as I spend the day in the sky today & tomorrow.

Life would be easier all Italian trains were accessible. (OK, being on time would help too.) I am told that Italy's high speed trains are exemplary for accessibility - and narrow gauge rolling stock is beyond hope.

Once you get inside, comfort and safety become important.

One of the companies most involved in efforts to improve safety for wheelchair passengers is Q'Straint, United States. It is working with Swedish operator SJ on a project that will provide wheelchair-seated passengers with the same degree of safety as other seated passengers.

from: Wheelchair safety gains: while seats on trains are firmly held in place, there is often little protection for wheelchair passengers. Drawing on bus industry experience, one company is now offering a solution that could transform the experience of wheelchair users.(Accesibility) by Roden, Andrew

source: International Railway Journal, January 1, 2006.

via: HighBeam™ Research

COPYRIGHT 2006 Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation

Kirsten Lyttle @ Red Gallery. com

Kirsten Lyttle can take your on a tour of her Maori culture for a different view of native New Zealand - a whimsical, graphical tour in the case of the photo above - a paradoxical form given the trained philosopher's mind animating the work behind the scenes

I had a wonderful chat with her mother here in Anaheim this morning and learned that Kirsten is disabled from a car accident that turned her interest to photography and art. I am looking forward to when she has a show in San Francisco!

See Kirsten Lyttle's show at Red Gallery.com
http://www.redgallery.com.au/2006Shows/2006Show02.htm#Gal1http://www.redgallery.com.au/2006Shows/2006Show02.htm#Gal1

by Kirsten Lyttle

Savages is a whimsical yet thought-provoking series of digital prints that challenges the viewer’s preconceptions about race and identity. Based on 19th Century lithographs of Maori by Western ethnographers, Kirsten Lyttle has constructed highly artificial dioramas where the “noble savage” Maori have been disconcertingly replaced by Chico jelly babies with the smiling black faces associated with golliwogs and “black mammy” dolls.

The work reflects a playful tension between philosophical discourse on racial stereotypes, and personal experience as a woman of both Maori and Anglo-Celtic heritage, raised by an adopted white family – growing up in New Zealand and then Australia, she remembers being called “Chico” in Australian school playgrounds.

In stark contrast with the low-tech construction and engaging appeal of the Chico narrative, the work has been meticulously researched to ensure no Tapu or scared images of Maori were used in the series; the work is not a comment on the Maori themselves, but a statement about the ethnographers who misappropriated Maori and Tapu imagery and projected their own assumptions on to the otherness they perceived.

Planning For a Naples Tour

Slow Travel isn't a site about those of us with mobility impairments but it does feature the insights of a few travelers who have discovered what we all know -- that a vacation is not meant to be a sprint. Severeal hundred travelers have recounted their stories at the site. You can read them at your leisure here: http://www.slowtrav.com/tr/default.asp

I have been perusing the site for insights into Italy - specifically the Bay of Naples and south along the Amalfi Coast for the next Rolling Rains travelogue. Sorrento will be our basecamp for "concentric circles" of travel at a leisurely pace. And no, I do not intend to rappel through the hillside retreats of Positano and Ravello.

The Paralympics in Torino, Italy

Hello again from Sestriere, After almost 2 weeks living in the Paralympic Village, my time is coming to an end. Tomorrow I will be racing in my final event, Slalom. After an exciting finish in the Giant Slalom, I am looking forward to pushing the envelope and giving everything I have tomorrow to hopefully capture a medal. I learned that after the Giant Slalom race that no one remembers a slow ski racer, so after I had a conservative first run, I let it go in the 2nd run and made up a lot of time to close the gap between some of my competitors. This wild second run really showed me that skiing pretty is not always fast. So tomorrow, there will be no points for style. As the coaches have been telling us all week, fence or finish! My goal is to put my face in it and go for it!

Regardless of a medal, I have had an exciting Paralympic experience and I am so lucky that I got to share this with all of you. Thank you for the notes of support and encouragement. I feel that much of my success comes from all of you and I cannot thank you enough for just believing in me. I will cross that finish line tomorrow with a huge smile because I know what I set out to do this week, I have done. I have enjoyed every moment and raced to my full ability, that is something to be happy about.

I hope you have enjoyed the 2006 Paralympics as much as I have. Remember when in Italy, drink lots of coffee, dance on tables and enjoy the lazy Italian afternoons. From Sestriere, Good night!
Sandy

Goldilocks Loves Universal Design; Reads Danielle Steel

The last time I wrote about hotel beds I received hearty encouragement from Eleanor Smith, founder of the Visitability initiative. My search for the "just right" bed will never have the worldwide impact of Visitability. In fact, it may put a few people to sleep. But that's not a bad thing.

Many who travel using wheelchairs or with parents having mobility difficulties have lamented the trend toward "skyscraper beds." These extra high beds may make for enticing promotional photos with their long legs and impressive display of mattress-top quilting and padding. Short of installing step ladders for entry or taking a flying leap to mount them they remain out of reach for many.

The Marriott Suites Hotel in Anaheim, California has hit the "Goldilocks Zone" with more than its sensible height bed in Room 1401.

I chose this accessible room for the tub rather than the roll-in shower which inevitably rusts out my wheelchair bearings after about three days of use. The sitting room is ample and entry is smooth with a low friction carpet. The simple love seat is appropriately high and has firm enough cushions to work well for a transfer. An efficient tableserves as a desk with easy to reach lamp switch, wall outlets, and DSL cable. Someone was thinking "practicality & comfort" in this room.

Goldilocks would approve of the bedroom. The hotel's designers have not succumbed to the Viagra-era compulsion to add a few inches to everything in the bedroom. Envision the bed, for example.

Adding firmness where it counts the reinforced mattress edge guard doesn't disappoint with a limp sag as you move into position for a transfer. Rather than the "look but do not touch" stance of the currently trendy stage-high beds Marriott offers a voluptuous profile. The ample breadth practically heaves under the weight of not one but three pairs of pillows. Sneaking a first peek in through the doorway the whole room seems to ask, "What were you doing out there that was so important anyway?"

Cold showers available in the adjoining bathroom.

Austrian Conference on Accessible Tourism - A Call for Papers

Do you have an idea for a presentation on Inclusive Tourism?

Consider proposing a presentation at the Special Thematic Session (STS) on Accessible Tourism during the 10th International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs (ICCHP 06, http://www.icchp.org ), 12-14 July 2006, Johannes Kelper University, Linz, Austria

The STS is organized to provide a forum for the discussion of major issues related to accessible tourism for people with disabilities, to identify existing barriers as well as technologies, strategies and approaches to promote barrier-free tourism.

Further information at:
http://www.ki-i.at/ICCHP_06_accessible_tourism.htm

Turn Your Back on Pismo Beach

No, that's not the title of the internal memo written by the lobbyists who succeeded in allowing offshore drilling out the front windows of these multimillion dollar bungalows.

Literally look inland to the East as from Pismo Beach and take in the mountains.

Coming South on 101 I roused myself from a nap just before Pismo Beach to see the rugged hillsides. If you read rocks the sight is nothing short of terrifying. The tremendous tectonic forces that shattered the earth's crust here make witnessing Mt. St. Helens blow itself to oblivion seem inconsequential. These hills are the remnants of horizontal layers of rock pushed fractured like peanut brittle and thrust vertically into the blue sky.

When the shudder of recognition settled I was left humbled and in awe.

Oh, The Woes of Amtrak Travel...

Actually, it wasn't a bad as I feared (which says something already, doesn't it?)

The Coast Starliner mini-suite that I reserved for the San Jose to Anaheim, California trip never materialized. More to the point, the train itself never materialized. It was six hours behind schedule when I arrived a comfortable one hour before boarding time.

Yes, it appears that I am fated to begin my vacation experience early. I seem to have landed in Italian time even while still here in California trying to make it to the 2006 NCOA/ASA Conference. I have adopted "Romanitas" - the state of being that allows one to maintain equanimity in the face of simple tasks as they drag on to take millenia.

Robert, the quick thinking but Amtrak-speed acting ticketing agent at the station, got me safely onto the Amtrak bus. The driver took up my offer to me carried up the front stairs giving me a gorgeous view of California's early spring green along Highway 101. The driver offered to buy whatever I needed at the several stops along the 6+ hour excursion ending in Santa Barabara.

At Santa Barbara I caught the commuter Amtrak (no mini-suites) to Anaheim arriving two hours earlier than if I had taken the train I was originally scheduled for. (I never try to figure out the logic of train schedules. I satisfy my temptations to do so by convincing myself that trains operate in a parallel universe with different rules of time & physics.)

The Santa Barbara station is small, charming and retrofitted with short ramps in two of the front doors if you can find them.The lobby even has an old fireplace that appears to have long ago fallen out of use. For those needing to recharge a wheelchair there is a publicly accessible outlet -- sort of. Ask at the ticket counter for access to the outlet in the side room next to the men's bathroom. With enough layover time a trip to the Boardwalk is a must.

Unfortunately, the "wheelchair spaces" on this train were without windows. It hardly mattered. All the windows were dirty anyway.

Arriving in Anaheim at night can be beautiful. The palm tree lined boulevard near the convention center is illuminated very dramatically with several upfacing spotlights fixed to the upper trunks of the trees. What you see is a stark contrast between the brightly lit scalloped brown bark and the deep shadows it casts covered by an underlit canopy of green fronds. At intervals are lighting fixtures that are almost arabesque. The internally illuminated "light installations" add a softer element and a public ar feel. The lighting is sufficient and the neighborhood appearently sfae enough that I saw several folks in wheelchairs out for an evening passegiata.

All Roads Lead to ... Disneyland!

Here in Anaheim I have been going to Disneyland several times a day. (And you thought I was following the Universal Design track at the American Society on Aging Conference!)

Actually, I am doing both. The tourist transit system (Anaheim Resort Transit) travels between hotels using the main entrance plaza of Disneyland as its hub.

Each bus is outfitted with a Ricon wheelchair lift The design requires the driver to leave the driver's seat to open the access door from the outside, operate the lift, stap (or unstrap) the four wheelchair strap-downs, and then return to driving. Drivers and passengers have been wonderfully good natured about the tedious process but it is easy to wonder why accessible design segregation (disabled passengers as special afterthoughts) rather than Universal Design integration was not used to begin with.

Design considerations clearly went into making the coaches. The problem is its superficiality.

Each coach looks like an old red trolley - complete with parkbench-like wooden seats (retrofitted with thin padding due to passenger complaints one imagines) and leg room for the average nine year old Disney denizen.

I'd rate the system a marginal "good enough" for now but he cost in time and emotion due to thinking only as far as "cute" in the design phase and not doing the real work of human centered development must be quite high especially at peak tourism season.

Amtrak Derails ADA

As I board the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner for an all-day excursion between the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles my anticipation is dimmed as I recall an article from last June that reported:

A federal judge ruled that Amtrak can charge a group of
wheelchair users extra to ride in the same car together.

Did somebody come up with a new ad campaign for the travel industry? - "All the injustice that the market will bear."

Judge: Amtrak Can Charge Disabled Extra

By PATRICK WALTERS
The Associated Press
Wednesday, June 22, 2005; 4:27 PM

PHILADELPHIA -- A federal judge ruled that Amtrak can charge a group of
wheelchair users extra to ride in the same car together.

The wheelchair users, members of Disabled in Action of Pennsylvania,
travel to Washington regularly to lobby. They sued after Amtrak told them
that they could ride together on a Philadelphia-to-Washington train but
that some of them would have to pay $200 more than the usual ticket price
to cover the cost of removing seats.

The group sued, saying the policy violated the federal Americans With
Disabilities Act.

U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III said Friday that under federal law,
Amtrak must have one space to park a wheelchair and one space to store an
unoccupied chair per passenger coach. It can charge extra for anything
beyond that, Bartle ruled.

About three-quarters of those who were to go on the February trip are on
fixed incomes of about $600 a month, the group said. Executive director
Nancy Salandra said the charge on top of the $90 round-trip ticket price
was too much for them to bear.

"If you and your family and friends and sisters and brothers and cousins,
more than 20, wanted to travel to Washington, you would get a discount as
a group," said Stephen Gold, an attorney for the group.

Amtrak spokeswoman Marcie Golgoski said the policy of charging for the
removal of seats does not apply to just the disabled. If people wanted to
have party on a train and seats had to be removed, they would be assessed
the fee, too, she said.

Source:

JUSTICE FOR ALL -- A Service of the American Association of People with Disabilities

http://www.aapd-dc.org/JFA/JFAabout.html

Seasons in (or at Least Near) Basilicata

I have been preparing for a first trip to Italy - southern Italy near Naples.

After reading Carlo Levi's Christ Stopped at Eboli, David Yeadon's Seasons in Basilicata offers another glimpse into unexplored southern Italy.

Seasons in Basilicata is a book that defies classification: part travel book, part history, part fiction (so I'm told by a "reliable" source close to the Yeadons), part cook book, part literary criticism. Seasons in Basilicata has an allure that pulls the reader in and reminds us just how unexplored our world still is.

from: Seasons in Basilicata: a Year in a Southern Italian Hill Village.(Book Review) by Martino, Andrew

source: Reviewer's Bookwatch, February 1, 2005.

via: HighBeam™ Research

COPYRIGHT 2005 Midwest Book Review

Dunas Canteras Salud Hotel

The Dunas Hotels of the Canary Islands are among the world's innovators in using Universal Design as a central part of their hospitality business. They understand the business value and competitive advantage that comes from Universal Design.

Here they receive coverage for Dunas Salud in MercaTurismo.com (in Spanish.)

The Reality - Wheelchairs, It Ain’t Just Legs

Over at Wheelchair Diffusion there is a frank discussion going on about wheelcchairs, legs, and accessibility in general. See The Reality - Wheelchairs, It Ain’t Just Legs.

Manchester: Can You Afford to Holiday There?

Manchester Disabled Peoples' Access Group did an accessibitiy survey from 2002 to 2004.

This is what they found.

* Hotels
26 hotels were visited at the request of MCC, 16 were accessible, 10 were not accessible.

only 61.5% were accessible

* Tourist Venues
19 tourist venues were requested and surveyed, 14 were accessible, 5 were not accessible.

only 73.7% were accessible

* Cafes, pubs & restaurants
255 venues, only 60 were accessible, 195 were not accessible

only 23.5% accessible

* Shops
Excluding the Arndale Centre, of 433 shops visited, 166 were accessible, 267 were not accessible.

only 38.3% accessible

* Banks
20 banks were visited, 5 were accessible, 15 were not accessible.

only 25% accessible

* Arndale Centre shops Common problems identified in some shops:
o no level access from Market Street;
o split level facilities to products, with steps and no lift;
o fixed seating in cafes and restaurants;
o obstacles in doorways and aisles;
poor signage.

For more information, our section on access standards provides more details or contact us for details of our surveys.

Wilayah Persekutuan, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Wilayah Persekutuan, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia seems like a desirable place to travel but can it become accessible?

Maybe, with the help of Damai

View image

Sixteen Years Waiting at the Bus Stop: How Not to Treat Travelers

The following comes from All Headline News:

Florida County Agrees to Cater to Disabled Travelers

March 2, 2006 8:00 a.m. EST

Christina Ficara - All Headline News Staff Reporter

Broward County, FL (AHN) - Broward County commissioners have reached an agreement that makes public transportation more accessible to handicapped riders.

On Tuesday, County commissioners agreed to pay more than $10 million over the next five years to make bus stops more accessible to disabled residents.

The agreement comes amidst a civil lawsuit against the county over almost two-thirds of its 5,000 bus stops not meeting federal accessibility standards.

Congress enacted the disability rights laws 16 years ago.

Crip Chronicles

Teri Adams, who lives just up the road and who, to my embarrasment, I have still not met, recently published this reflection on Universal Design in an essential location -- at the gas pumps. See Universal Design at the Gas Pump over at Crip Chronicles.

I like her taste in heroes also -- " Sage Words from One of My Heroes"

Is the Big Island on Your Itinerary?

If you plan to visit the Hawai'i you may enjoy the piece by Steve Wright and Heid Johnson-Wright: Big Island Vistas from a Wheelchair.

Fly "Ikeatalia" With Gianfranco Zaccai

Gianfranco Zaccai is president and CEO of Design Continuum, the award-winning design consultancy behind P&G's Swiffer. Zaccai is chairman of the board of directors of the Design Management Institute and a faculty member at SDA Bocconi School of Management in Milan. Recently, he wrote a piece that is something of an open letter to Italy's celebratedly underperforming national airline, Alitalia. In the piece, What Ikea Could Teach Alitalia, we find Universal Design:

• Grandparents are part of the family.

Older travelers have special challenges with air travel, but except for those extremely unglamorous golf carts with the annoying beeping, little is done to make them feel welcome. Ikeatalia would apply universal design principles throughout its waiting lounges and aircraft, improving the experience for all travelers.

And, Ununterbrochene Servicekette :

• The total travel experience.

After the hassles of making reservations, battling traffic, and trekking through the airport, many travelers are already fed up by the time they're in the airline's care. An "Ikeatalia" airline would try to make it easy and fun to make reservations and get to the airport, easy and fun to check your luggage and go through security, easy and fun to find your gate, easy and fun to board the plane -- with similar experiences upon arrival.

Source:

What Ikea Could Teach Alitalia
BusinessWeek magazine

Imagine Better: Building Inclusive Community

A Call for Proposals:

Imagine Better: Building Inclusive Community 6-8th September 2006.
Rotorua Convention Centre, Rotorua.
The conference organising committee has called for abstracts (brief
proposals) from individuals or groups who wish to present at this
conference. The proposals must be submitted by Friday 21st April 2006.
For further information contact:
Erin Geaney, events@imaginebetter.co.nz or phone 09 262 5374 or Fax 09
262 5371.

Read Global Access News Travel E-zine

Global Access News Travel E-zine is a publication that I am always enjoy. I encourage all Rolling Rains readers to consider a free subscription to this monthly update. Every issue I learn several new and relevant inclusive travel tidbits.

The March edition contains articles on Roatan, Honduras, the festering practices of disability discrimination by air carriers, and positive developments in Granda, Croatia, Aruba, and Granada.

Here's the piece on Roatan Island's Bay Islands Beach Resort.

HONDURAS: BAY ISLANDS BEACH RESORT

Kudos to Bay Islands Beach Resort in Honduras for building accommodations with accessible designs in mind. The resort claims to exceed ADA standards. Its beachfront and beach guest rooms are ramped.

The resort is known for hosting disabled divers. To see resort photos and learn more about it, see http://www.bibr.com/accessibility.htm

Bay Islands Beach Resort
Sandy Bay, Roatan
Bay Islands, Honduras
Central America

Tel. 011-504-445-3020 (voice)
Fax. 011-504-445-3064

For additional information, write escape@bibr.com

Hit the Beach with Monster Tires

I wish I had one of these things when I was knocking around in Australia. Thanks to a generous local donor you can try these out at Crowdy Head, Black Head and Forster Main beaches in New South Wales.

See: Water Wheels

On ICTA & Saudi Arabia's Progressive Building Philosophy

ICTA, the International Commission on Technology and Accessibility, is an important organization for travelers with disabilities. You may never meet anyone from the organizatiion. You may never even hear of it again but it is out there working for us 24/7 all around the world.

Case in point, Experts Weigh Review of Building Codes

Experts Weigh Review of Building Codes
by M. Ghazanfar Ali Khan, Arab News

RIYADH, 3 March 2006 ­— Construction experts, planners and consultants will discuss with officials of the Building Code National Committee ways to ensure that the construction projects comply with the Universal Design code, especially keeping in view the requirements of handicapped persons.

This was decided at the closing session of a workshop chaired by Awadh B. S. Al-Raddadi, deputy minister of social affairs, here yesterday. This 11-day workshop entitled “To prepare the Built Environment for Accessibility and Technology for the Disabled” was organized by the Ministry of Social Affairs.

Speaking at the session, Al-Raddadi said that “the workshop benefited municipal officials and planners of the Kingdom and five other Arab countries.”

The move to review building codes is significant in view of the fact that about 10 percent of the population suffer from one or the other type of disabilities. Some 3.7 percent of the them suffer from severe disabilities mainly caused by accidents, physical deformations or hereditary diseases. Of them, 48 percent are youth and 38 percent are children. “Hence, the proposal to incorporate Universal Design is an important issue, which will help in providing facilities for handicapped people,” said Mukhtar Al-Shibani, coordinator of the workshop.

He said that the approval given by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for holding this workshop in cooperation with International Commission on Technology and Accessibility (ICTA) indicated the importance Kingdom attaches to this issue.

“We would like to hold similar workshops in other Arab countries,” said Al-Shibani, adding that the building code, which is a set of technical, scientific, practical, administrative legislations and regulations laid down by the national committee to ensure the minimum acceptable limit of safety and public sanitation, should also incorporate guidelines to facilitate the people with special needs.

Referring to the need to promote UD concept, Phillip Thompson, a visiting consultant working for ICTA, said that “the UD emphasizes on designing products and making environment suitable for all people especially those with special needs to the greatest extent possible.” Thompson said that the workshop had made recommendations for formulating clear policies on the issue.

During the workshop, a core group of ICTA members provided an overview of International Accessibility Standards, models of accessibility regulations and monitoring processes. All participants were also given certificates by the ministry and ICTA.

Call for Papers: Universal Design

Call for Papers: Universal Design & Visitability: From Accessibility to
Zoning Conference

The Ohio State University is organizing the Universal Design & Visitability: From

Accessibility to Zoning Conference (July 13-14, 2006).

We invite planners, designers, city officials, policy-makers, disability

professionals and others to submit proposals for paper or

design/planning presentations.

Join us in Columbus, Ohio July 13-14, 2006. The conference will have a

distinguished set of keynote speakers. The theme: "Universal Design and

Visitability" encompasses a variety of areas (design, public policy,

zoning and advocacy) across different scales and settings (residential,

institutional, city/regional), such as:

* The geography of disabilities

* Planning public places

* Affordable Housing

* Public health and universal design

* Master planning for universal design

* Educating planners and designers

* Public policy for access & equity

* Zoning and Building Codes

The submission Abstract proposal (250-500 words) DEADLINE is March 15,

2006.

We will notify you by April 7 if your presentation is accepted.

Submit on-line at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=3D94021788491

(If you have difficulty accessing the on-line submission form with

assistive technology contact ADA-OSU@osu.edu)=20

We welcome three kinds of presentations:

1) Traditional papers;

2) Presentations of designs or plans;

3) Symposium on a single topic with 3-4 presenters and a moderator.

We welcome any new work you have to share on the range of issues. Awards

will be given for the best student paper and best student design or

plan.

Jennifer Evans-Cowley, Jack L. Nasar, & Scott Lissner, co-chairs

Universal Design & Visitability: From Accessibility to Zoning Ohio State

University http://knowlton.osu.edu/ped/universaldesign.htm

=20

Columbus is a short drive from Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh,

Indianapolis and Knoxville. Local entertainment includes the Arena

District, located a few blocks north of downtown, home to the Nationwide

Arena, professional hockey, restaurants, bars, and live entertainment;

the Short North Gallery District, between two historic districts, and

home to restaurants, coffee houses, and art galleries; The Brewery

District with its microbreweries and fine German restaurants, bars, and

live entertainment venues; and the historic German Village.

Universal Design & Visitability: from Accessibility to Zoning conference

is presented by The Ohio State University's Knowlton School of

Architecture and ADA Coordinator's Office with support from the National

Endowment for the Arts and in collaboration with The Kirwin Institute

for Race and Ethnicity, The John Glenn Institute for Public Service and

Public Policy, The American Planning Association, The Great Lakes ADA &

Accessible IT Center, ADA-OHIO, Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission,

Mid-Ohio Board of Independent Living, and The Ability Center of Greater.

How to submit your proposal:

On-line submittal at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=3D94021788491

(If you have difficulty accessing the on-line submission form with

assistive technology contact ADA-OSU@osu.edu)=20

Do Aruba with a Disability

Aruba on your itinerary? Here's a resource --Travelers with disabilities Aruba.