TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Parks and Public spaces

New Ninja Warriors Park is EPIC-ALLY Accessible

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a climbing structure with several kids it I made of steel and wood.

Panama City, Florida is the new home to an accessible playground that’s inspired by the American Ninja Heroes TV show. How inclusive could a ninja park be? Very. There’s a wheelchair-accessible zipline and 30-foot climbing towers. Looking for a challenge? Hat tip to John Morris, the ultimate adventurer, for writing about this on his blog. wheelchairtravel.org. 

Panama City, Florida  is the new home to an accessible playground that’s inspired by the American Ninja Heroes TV show. How inclusive could a ninja park be? Very. THERE’S A wheelchair-accessible zipline and 30-foot climbing towers.Looking for a challenge? Hat tip to John Morris, the ultimate adventurer, for writing about this on his blog. wheelchairtravel.org. 

OUR TAKE: What a great way for parents to give COVID-19 the finger when lockdown ends! Of course, not everyone’s in Florida. If you can imagine one in your area, there are plenty of resources on fundraising, planning and building on accessibleplayground.net. Their motto is every child deserves to play! 

Must-read: “Don’t Let a Disability Keep You from Exploring the World”

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Cover of book with three men standing on a mountain one in a backpack (which is Kevan)We Carry Kevan is the true story of how six friends carried one man across three countries. “Don’t let your disability stop you from exploring the world,” says Kevan Chandler in his new book, and documentary, and yes, even a Ted Talk. The man is unstoppable. Read more here.

The author is on a mission to redefine independent travel for wheelchair users like himself. And that he has. You can even buy the same backpack he designed for the trip. It will be available for purchase this summer. Details on his website.

 

 

 

 

Google Goes Accessible with Routes for Wheelchair Users. Plus: More Options

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birds eye view of planes and houses

The tool: Google maps that integrate wheelchair accessible public transit routes into its directions feature.

The reviews: Cautiously optimistic, according to a New Mobility review.

The buzz: Few travel industry folks we spoke with even knew about the Google tool, which could become a helpful solution, particularly for city wheelers.

Who its best for right now: According the New Mobility review, “Users in six cities – New York, Boston, Tokyo, London, Mexico City, and Sydney – can search for directions between locations, choose public transit as the method of travel and then select “wheelchair accessible” from the route-options menu. As with all public transit searches in Maps, a selection of routes will appear, but now only routes with accessible stations and modes of transit will be included.” 
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Another option: Project Sidewalk, a crowdsourced navigation tool that gamifies collecting data has been developed at the University of Washington Makeability Lab, was successfully tested in Washington, D.C. and according to their Twitter feed, has launched in Seattle with massive success. A recent tweet via @projesidwalk: “Project Sidewalk is now officially live in Seattle! In our first week, we collected over 10,000 sidewalk accessibility labels. Help us get to 20,000! You can participate from all seven continents–all you need is an Internet connection & a laptop!

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Our vote: Project Sidewalk, which looks like it’s off to a promising start.

Editor’s note: Don’t confuse Project Sidewalk with another (controversial) initiative from Alphabet called Sidewalk Labs, which will collect data on commuter routes in Portland. (This piece in Geekwire makes no mention of tracking wheelchair users or routes.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Life’s A Beach This Summer—Get Beach Trax

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woman in wheelchair on beach using a mat to roll to the oceanTo be sure that everyone on wheels can take advantage of the beach or uneven terrain this summer, why not roll out the ‘red carpet’ of accessibility? Beach Trax. The lightweight, foldable pathway gives portable access to every destination visitor regardless of the terrain.

The details: The best way to explain how easy the product is to use is to think of each ‘track’ as a highly-durable, thick square (imagine a doormat but BIGGER) that folds out in sections. (Or instead of taking our word for it, watch co-founder Kelly Twichel roll it out in seconds, here.) They’ve also kept the price reasonable. Beach Trax (sold in sets of 10) are $650 each. 

About the company: The San Diego-based company’s co-founders, both occupational therapists, were inspired to create Beach Trax when fellow adaptive surfers were looking for a way to get to the water independently. 

young woman in blue tee shirt on the beach smiling she has blonde hair and is wearing a hatWant more details on the product and Twichel’s work?

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Blind Mountain Climber Scares the Crap Out of TODAY Show Hosts (Video)

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blind climber on a mountain with red jacket and helmetLast February, NBC’s Harry Smith went climbing with Erik Weihenmayer, the adventurer who has conquered some of the most dangerous places on earth. He also happens to be blind. Click here to watch the TODAY show video, including the end, where every newsperson at the table looks scared out of their mind just talking about the climbs Weihenmayer lives to complete. It’s really an amazing story that puts life in perspective.