the access issue at the doggetts coat and badge
[written as a comment in nyecamden's journal post here]
people in a number of comments have asked, or stated they don't understand, what are the access issues perceived (by friends of nye, and in some places specifically referencing me) with doggetts coat and badge.
contemplating posting each time the question arises got a bit daunting, so posting it here - perhaps it will be noticed by some, perhaps nye you'll post it in your journal as a seperate post. perhaps i'll post it in mine too.
my perspective is limited and heavily influenced by my own experience of accessing the world as someone with 'mobility impairment', who is often a wheelchair user when accessing events. it is not my sole perspective (i listen to other people, i think laterally, there are other issues that affect me that would be included under the label of 'access issues'), but it is my main perspective.
i think it is important to clarify here, because the point seems to have been missed/to be unclear, that while i find DCB a challenging venue to access, i have managed to access it. my concerns re its accessibility are in part my own (i am only able to access the venue when i am resourced enough to meet the challenges it presents to me), and, in equally large/greater part, that others are excluded from events held there because of the access issues.
one commenter stated/asked "name me anyone else?" [other than me who thinks that the venue presents serious access issues], and while i believe that the issue is equally valid were the people being excluded hypothetical, i can also say that these 'others' are real, tho i won't name them... sometimes because i don't know their names - e.g. i didn't meet them, but friends/other contacts told me of someone who had to leave without accessing a bifest when they couldn't access the lift at DCB because it was too small for their wheelchair... and sometimes because i'd rather maintain their anonymity/confidentiality - e.g. a friend who is exploring their sexuality and whom i would like to be able to encourage to attend one of the london bifests... and sometimes simply because it's not relevant (tho i believe this to be true of 'naming' in any cases) - e.g. a lover of mine who wouldn't be able to access the event were she to be visiting me while a bifest was being held at DCB.
some of the issues wrt accessing DCB as i notice/see them:
the route to the level entrance to the ground floor of the pub presents access issues for wheelchair users, and possibly others with ambulant mobility impairment/difficulty. while the entrance from the pub to the beer garden is level, there is a step from the beer garden to the driveway via which you access it from the street. because the driveway is sloped and the beer garden level, the step is uneven, which can make it harder to negotiate should you attempt it. the driveway and the entrance from the driveway to the beer garden, is often obstructed by parked vehicles and/or crates. the crates are potentially something the venue can address. as to the parked vehicles, i have been told (correctly or incorrectly) that they are outside of the venues control.
it is relevant to note that i use a very manouverable manual wheelchair; i'm on the slim side of average as an adult wheelchair user, and have limited camber on my wheels, so my wheelchair is not particularly wide; and i have a strong upper body and good dexterity, and my wheelchair skills are on the good side of average.
wrt the previous point, i have had to literally scrape past vehicles, and ask for assistance from friends, to access the 'accessible' entrance of the pub. i am concerned that anyone broader than me, and/or using a powered wheelchair, with more restricted strength and/or body/wheelchair control, or without accompaniment/being able to contact friends inside the venue to come out and help will be unable to get into the venue.
once inside the ground floor of the pub, access to the upper floors (used by bifests) is by lift. the lift entrance, and lift body itself is small. i do not have the dimensions, and did not find them listed last time i checked london bifest/polyday websites. i do not have anyone specific's wheelchair dimensions to hand right now. but i do believe that i am correct when i say that this will exclude people from accessing events held in areas of the pub accessed only by lift. the experience that the lift is a tight space as someone who is a smallish manual wheelchair user... coupled with having been told that someone using a powered wheelchair tried to access the event and venue but could not access the lift... suggests this to be a correct belief on my part.
these issues are the two key ones (to my mind), and what i have been telling people are the main issues with the venues accessibility.
there are other issues, that do not prevent participation completely, but do prevent participation on an equal basis as those who are non-disabled.
people in a number of comments have asked, or stated they don't understand, what are the access issues perceived (by friends of nye, and in some places specifically referencing me) with doggetts coat and badge.
contemplating posting each time the question arises got a bit daunting, so posting it here - perhaps it will be noticed by some, perhaps nye you'll post it in your journal as a seperate post. perhaps i'll post it in mine too.
my perspective is limited and heavily influenced by my own experience of accessing the world as someone with 'mobility impairment', who is often a wheelchair user when accessing events. it is not my sole perspective (i listen to other people, i think laterally, there are other issues that affect me that would be included under the label of 'access issues'), but it is my main perspective.
i think it is important to clarify here, because the point seems to have been missed/to be unclear, that while i find DCB a challenging venue to access, i have managed to access it. my concerns re its accessibility are in part my own (i am only able to access the venue when i am resourced enough to meet the challenges it presents to me), and, in equally large/greater part, that others are excluded from events held there because of the access issues.
one commenter stated/asked "name me anyone else?" [other than me who thinks that the venue presents serious access issues], and while i believe that the issue is equally valid were the people being excluded hypothetical, i can also say that these 'others' are real, tho i won't name them... sometimes because i don't know their names - e.g. i didn't meet them, but friends/other contacts told me of someone who had to leave without accessing a bifest when they couldn't access the lift at DCB because it was too small for their wheelchair... and sometimes because i'd rather maintain their anonymity/confidentiality - e.g. a friend who is exploring their sexuality and whom i would like to be able to encourage to attend one of the london bifests... and sometimes simply because it's not relevant (tho i believe this to be true of 'naming' in any cases) - e.g. a lover of mine who wouldn't be able to access the event were she to be visiting me while a bifest was being held at DCB.
some of the issues wrt accessing DCB as i notice/see them:
the route to the level entrance to the ground floor of the pub presents access issues for wheelchair users, and possibly others with ambulant mobility impairment/difficulty. while the entrance from the pub to the beer garden is level, there is a step from the beer garden to the driveway via which you access it from the street. because the driveway is sloped and the beer garden level, the step is uneven, which can make it harder to negotiate should you attempt it. the driveway and the entrance from the driveway to the beer garden, is often obstructed by parked vehicles and/or crates. the crates are potentially something the venue can address. as to the parked vehicles, i have been told (correctly or incorrectly) that they are outside of the venues control.
it is relevant to note that i use a very manouverable manual wheelchair; i'm on the slim side of average as an adult wheelchair user, and have limited camber on my wheels, so my wheelchair is not particularly wide; and i have a strong upper body and good dexterity, and my wheelchair skills are on the good side of average.
wrt the previous point, i have had to literally scrape past vehicles, and ask for assistance from friends, to access the 'accessible' entrance of the pub. i am concerned that anyone broader than me, and/or using a powered wheelchair, with more restricted strength and/or body/wheelchair control, or without accompaniment/being able to contact friends inside the venue to come out and help will be unable to get into the venue.
once inside the ground floor of the pub, access to the upper floors (used by bifests) is by lift. the lift entrance, and lift body itself is small. i do not have the dimensions, and did not find them listed last time i checked london bifest/polyday websites. i do not have anyone specific's wheelchair dimensions to hand right now. but i do believe that i am correct when i say that this will exclude people from accessing events held in areas of the pub accessed only by lift. the experience that the lift is a tight space as someone who is a smallish manual wheelchair user... coupled with having been told that someone using a powered wheelchair tried to access the event and venue but could not access the lift... suggests this to be a correct belief on my part.
these issues are the two key ones (to my mind), and what i have been telling people are the main issues with the venues accessibility.
there are other issues, that do not prevent participation completely, but do prevent participation on an equal basis as those who are non-disabled.