Thursday, March 10, 2011

Toronto accessibility project

here's some information about a new project starting in Toronto:

"TORONTO: accessible venues in the city? let's make a list!

by Sarah Pinder on Wednesday, March 9, 2011 at 9:18pm
it seems like i keep having conversations with people lately where we try to remember which venues in the city are accessible, so that we can figure out where to hold our next party/reading/meeting/whatever. we all seem to have our own respective mini-lists of venues, or if we don't, are left to reinvent the wheel when we book events - spending a lot of time researching the same information. from what i can tell, there doesn't seem to be any kind of overall list in existence.

it would amazing if we could generate a list of venue names, addresses, venue info (is there a ramp, an elevator, or is everything all on one level? how big are the doorways? what are the bathroom stalls like, specifically? are there handrails or a wheelchair-sized stall?) and contact info for different locations throughout the city, to make booking events more straightforward.

let's focus on keeping the list only for venues that have washroom access. i've run into a lot of 'we're barrier-free.... except for the washroom, which is down a flight of 15 stairs!' locations, which effectively means the place isn't accessible.

and let's make sure that things on our list are places we know *for sure* are accessible.... a common problem for me is hearing about a place maybe being accessible, but still having to do further research about or travel to a venue to confirm. it would also be great to have a variety of different types of locations to choose from - bars, community centres, libraries, halls, etc - that are sure bets, so all it takes is a phone call or an email to set up a show.

I've made a googledoc here that anyone can edit or add to, to get the ball rolling. it's just a bare bones outline - if you've got structural edits or fields you'd want to see added, let me know, or feel free to make changes:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AqcHkE2dHEBPdFZSUWNYNE8wUTUtMjUySkMxTi1tY3c&hl=en&authkey=CL6t9I4G

please pass this note on to friends and colleagues! with our collective knowledge, we can generate a tool that will be a time saver for everyone."

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