The Emerald Necklace Park IS a green, shining jewel in the heart of Boston…but alas, it IS NOT wheelchair-friendly

Posted on March 27, 2014 by Joanne Mead

Back Bay Fens section of Emerald Necklace Park

I have a job for the City of Boston. The Emerald Necklace Park system is really beautiful, but it could better for all, just as their designer, Frederick Law Olmsted envisioned. Boston’s planners can start with pathways that are consistently accessible to wheelchair-users.

Olmsted was a landscape architect in the 1800’s whose dream was to give city residents common ground to come together to relax and escape from the pollution and congestion of the city. The Emerald Necklace Park, in Boston and Brookline, consists of nine distinct parks unified by seven miles of paths, and was designed by Olmsted over 100 years ago. What started with the Boston Common, Public Garden and Commonwealth Avenue Mall grew to incorporate the Back Bay Fens, the Riverway, Jamaica Pond, the Arboretum and Franklin Park.

Office of Emerald Park Conservancy

There is a small, wheelchair-accessible building nestled into the Back Fens section of the park called “The Emerald Necklace Conservancy.” For $2, you can get a detailed map of the park space and pathways – but they are missing any handicap-accessible notations whatsoever. I called the office and spoke with someone who confirmed that this was a huge missing piece; she referred me to the Director of Historic Parks for Boston Parks and Recreation. No one answered the phone when I called in the middle of the day on a weekday, and the website for Boston Parks and Recreation has no information that I could find on wheelchair accessibility for the Emerald Necklace Parks. I find this incredibly surprising. I sent an email to Boston Parks and Rec with my questions and concerns.

Unpaved section of Emerald Necklace Park in the Fens

I did my own reconnaissance, and it’s not great for a wheelchair. Discrete parts of the park are accessible for a wheelchair: the Arboretum has access and paved paths, as does Jamaica Pond. Parts of the Back Bay Fens would work for a wheelchair, but the paths are either pavement or flattened dirt paths. If it was a nice day, for example not too wet and therefore muddy, you could park at the Museum of Fine Arts or the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and venture across the parkway to take in a bit of the Fens, but you wouldn’t get too far before the pavement was torn up or the paths became downright inaccessible.

Squeaky wheels get grease, so if you care about Boston, and it’s outdoor spaces, and whether it’s accessible to all, then please go on line to Boston Parks and Rec and send them an email too!

Boston University’s “Project Team” is recruiting for their spring program

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Joanne Mead

The barrier could be as simple as getting through a crowded room using a wheelchair or as complex as getting across a crowded city street using a wheelchair, using public transportation (using that same wheelchair) and navigating to the counter of popular city coffee bar to order your favorite cup of joe.

Whether the barriers are (seemingly) simple or obviously complicated, people with disabilities (those who use wheelchairs or those who don’t), face barriers in their everyday environment that many of us who do not have the same disabilities do not recognize as barriers. And that’s okay – as long as we listen when we are informed of the barriers and move to action to help eradicate said barriers.

My daughter Marianne recently participated in a program, called Project Team, that was designed to help people with disabilities advocate for the removal of barriers they encounter in their daily lives.

Project Team was developed by Jessica Kramer and her team at the Boston University Department of Occupational Therapy to work with young people with intellectual or physical disabilities to name barriers in their environment that keep them from reaching their goals and to be proactive in making changes so that the barriers are removed. The participants, aged 14 to 21, meet twice weekly for 8 weeks with peer mentors and team leaders to name barriers that they confront and to create game plans to change the environment. The goal is for these young people to learn to externalize challenges so that the obstacles can be removed – rather than simply giving up on one’s goals because it’s easier.

Marianne, who is 14 and uses a wheelchair, participated in Project Team this fall in Newton, and let me assure you, she is using her newly-developed advocacy skills daily!

There will be a group running in the Dedham/Sharon area after the February public school break, and if you are a young adult with developmental disabilities or know one who could benefit, please contact Jessica Kramer to find out more information. Both Marianne and I recommend Project Team highly.

Click here for more information on the spring recruitment: Recruitment Flyer_Trainee_v1.1

Roslindale Village for accessible holiday shopping? Bah Humbug

Posted on November 30, 2013 by Joanne Mead

Thought we’d do a little Christmas shopping in one of our old haunts, Roslindale Village. It’s November 30: Annual Holiday Tree Lighting Day in the Village. (Here’s my first peeve in what turned out to be a bust of a day. Really, a “Holiday” tree? It is a CHRISTMAS TREE.)

Santa Claus showed up on Engine 16 (although he blew past the kid in a wheelchair with the barest of sideways-glances) to pose for pictures with able-bodied kids. The Christmas Tree was lit. There were Christmas songs. Ho hum. Well, okay, we’ll go shopping then.

Roslindale’s Main Street, an organization dedicated to promoting small business in the area, boasts on its web site that their mission is to promote Roslindale Village as an appealing destination (um, not if you’re in a wheelchair, it’s not) and furthermore states that they are pedestrian-friendly. They are decidedly not.

We were off to a good start with an accessible parking lot off the main street, which had plenty of ADA spaces and a ramp down to the village area. Things went quickly downhill from there. We couldn’t access any of the enticing stores full of Christmas cheer:

– the Pop-Up Shop, featuring locally made retailers and some very yummy looking cupcakes = not accessible

- Birch Street House & Garden, had lots of interesting Christmas items but…. not accessible

-Joanne Rossman’s, another intriguing boutique = not accessible

– Really excited to try my sister-in-law’s favorite wine and cheese store, the Boston Cheese Cellar but…. not accessible

– The “shop small and hot chocolate tasting” sign next-door at Kitchen Central (no website) beckoned. Alas, they were NOT ACCESSIBLE either.

Ironically, most of these stores have a rear entrance in a charming patio area which looks fairly new and as if it could have been ramped without much fuss.

So I’d say pretty much all you can do if you’re in a wheelchair is buy food at the Village Market (an accessible food market) or buy dinner at either Delfino’s, Sophia’s Grotto or Birch Street Bistro (the entrances were accessible but I didn’t check out any of the restrooms – I’d call to check before I went if I were you).

My biggest disappointment was how far downhill Fornax Bakery has gone. You can kinda, sorta get in (the ramp is definitely not to code, it’s a tight fit for a wheelchair through the door, and there’s not really space for a wheelchair at any of the tables) but don’t bother: the hot chocolate was not hot and it was lumpy, and the muffins were stale.

Oh, and if you have a tacky-dress emergency, you can park here and just wheel right into the garish boutique on the corner. That store looks like a real gem, and it’s accessible!

Quick, enjoy these Boston trails before we’re snowed in for the winter!

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Joanne Mead

Seamus and friend along the banks of the Neponset River, Dorchester

Last week, my faithful companion (Seamus the dog), his beautiful Berner companion Poppy (named after Boston’s own Big Papi), and I walked the section of Boston’s HarborWalk that comprises Dorchester’s Pope John Paul Pius II Park. The 65-acre park is on the banks of the Neponset River.

Pope John Paul Pius II Park in Dorchester

The park has been reclaimed from its prior use as a landfill and now has over a mile of paved trails (wheelchairs work well here), a playground, parking lot complete with ADA spaces and a couple of port-a-potties (including a wheelchair-accessible one).

Neponset River Trail

In either direction, the Neponset River Trail extends (for a total of 2.5 miles) along the Neponset River, its salt marshes, and the Boston Harbor. The trail consists of both gravel and paved trails, and although I didn’t explore the entire trail, according the the website, it’s “consistently flat.” Also known as the Neponset River Greenway, the trail will be 10 miles long upon completion. It will eventually connect the Blue Hills Reservation with Boston Harbor; see The Boston Globe‘s June article on the state’s commitment of capital funding to finish the project.

Since you’ll be in the area, don’t miss a chance to stock up on delicious meats, a traditional Irish breakfast, or Barry’s tea at the Butcher Shop Market on Adams Street in Dorchester. The shop is wheelchair-accessible, although the doors are not electric. Important note: there is a big parking lot behind the store but it has been undergoing renovation for a while now. If you need to park in ADA spaces, you might want to call the market to find out the status on the parking lot.

And Ginger Betty’s Bakery in Quincy is close enough for a detour!

Gingerbread work of art featuring Boston

One weekend, two museums…what kid wouldn’t love THAT?

Posted on October 22, 2013 by Joanne Mead

Years of parenting have taught me that my kids will tolerate a short stint in a museum if they are promised: a) candy b) ice cream or c) decaf coffee (if the kid in question is Marianne).

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Recently, Marianne and I checked out two Boston museums, the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) and the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA). The MFA is wondrously, marvellously accessible. I could spend all day there (Marianne, not so much, and promises of decaf coffee only go so far).

MFA, Boston

Many of the interior doors are outfitted with accessible door openers, as are the exterior doors. There is plenty of clear signage to direct you. Docents are everywhere, and in our experience, they are extremely helpful; one even took a picture for me of the two of us! Bathrooms and water fountains are on every floor, with excellent wheelchair access. There is an accessible Green Line T stop across the street, and there is decent parking in an outside lot (two caveats: it is expensive at $10, and that is with the membership discount, and there seem to be only about five ADA parking spaces). There are multiple venues to have a bite to eat, ranging from the expensive restaurant Bravo on Floor 2 to the serve-yourself cafeteria on the lower level. There is also a glorified coffee shop on the first floor (Taste cafe) and a more upscale cafe (The New American Cafe) near the Chihuly glass in the museum’s indoor courtyard. We had a terrible but inexpensive latte at Taste; I think I’d schedule a little more time and budget for The New American Cafe next time around.

Photograph from “She Who Tells A Story” at the MFA, Boston

“She Who Tells A Story” exhibit at the MFA

If John Singer Sargent is your cup of tea, there is an exhibit running at the MFA until January 24, 2014. Marianne and I skipped it in favor of “She Who Tells A Story: Women Photographers from Iran and the Arab World.” The title describes it, but you really have to see it for yourself (showing through January 12, 2014). I can’t recommend this exhibit enough; it’s thought-provoking, mesmerizing, disturbing, and more. (Note: there is a curator talk on Thursday, December 19th from 6:30 to 7:30 pm in Remis Auditorium; tickets on sale as of November 21st)

Hippie Chic exhibit at MFA, Boston

We also visited the Hippie Chic exhibit (all clothes from the 70’s) and Think Pink (small exhibit that explores the significance of the color pink throughout history). Interesting, but I’d skip these two exhibits next time and spend all my time with the photographers in “She Who Tells A Story.”

I used to be able to get guest passes for the MFA at our local library; if that doesn’t work, single admission is $25 (7-17 are free after 3 pm on weekdays and on weekends). I bought a membership at the supporter level for $75 which gives me and my children (17 and under) free admission for the year, plus a discount on parking and at the gift shop. That’s two more visits, kids!

Chihuly sculpture and The New American Cafe space at the MFA, Boston

In my experience, weekends are crazy busy at the MFA. If you can get there late afternoon, say an hour and a half before closing on a weekday, it’s quiet. Wednesday through Friday night they are open until 9:45 pm, which might also be a promising time to visit. And if you’re over 21, you can enjoy a glass of wine at either The New American Cafe or Taste, the coffee shop on Floor One that doubles as a wine bar!

The Harborwalk, Boston, near the Institute for Contemporary Art

The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) has beautiful, industrial space and has the advantage of sitting on the Boston harbor, with the Harborwalk running alongside and beyond. The Harborwalk will remain a separate adventure – and blog post. Suffice it to say, for now, that there are almost 40 miles of pathway and many segments are ADA-compliant. Of course, the big question is: which sections aren’t?! I’ll let you know.

Amy Sillman’s exhibit, “one lump or two” at the ICA, Boston

Amy Sillman’s exhibit “one lump or two” is on exhibit now through January 5, 2014. I appreciate her use of color in the abstract pieces, but it’s the faces she creates that I love. That alone is worth the price of admission to me ($15 for an adult, kids 17 and under are free; Thursday nights all are free from 5 to 9 pm). The other space I appreciate at the ICA is the media lab, which looks out over the harbor as though through a camera viewfinder, and which has computer resources for researching contemporary art, artists or exhibits at the ICA. The top level is accessible, and has two accessible computers, but the other three or four levels in the lab are not. There is a kid-friendly (and teenager/wheelchair-friendly) art space on the first floor with ongoing projects for kids and teens.

The downside to the ICA: the only parking, really, is at a public lot that charges $15/day. The parking lot is in rough shape, and the wheelchair access through a gate doubles as a parking spot….so you have to hope that the car parked in the spot has left enough room not only for a thin person but also for a wheelchair or carriage. Seems wrong to put the spot there, somehow.

The Bee’s Knees Supply Company, Farnsworth Street, Boston

We walked and motored to the Bee’s Knees Supply Company for an early dinner. The Bee’s Knees has a little bit of everything: deli, sit-down cafe with great pizza and salad, wine story, charcuterie – in short, a gourmet grocery store, with in-store light dining. The real reason we braved the sidewalks (see photos – ARGHH!): the salted caramel ice cream. Oh joy! Oh rapture! We’d brave these sidewalks again for that ice cream. Our friend thought the pumpkin latte (seasonal, I am sure) was also de-lish.

Teeny tiny sidewalk space near Sleeper Street, Boston

But don’t wheel there, as we did, from the ICA. Yikes. The whole area around the ICA is still very much a work-in-progress, and the sidewalks are in terrible shape with potholes and sporadic curb cuts. There are not enough crosswalks either. The side streets around Sleeper Street, where the Bee’s Knees Supply Company is, are even worse. The sidewalks are not always wide enough and there are holes galore. Go there for sure, but not on foot or wheelchair from the ICA!

UPDATE: My terrible accessible taxi fail at Boston Logan Airport

Posted on September 4, 2013 by PeterMahoney

Last week, I wrote about my experience trying to get my daughter, Marianne, home from the airport after our family vacation.

(See my previous note here: http://www.travelbywheelchair.com/my-terrible-experience-getting-an-accessible-taxi-at-logan-airport/)

Marianne from our vacation

Marianne from our vacation

I naively assumed that I could catch a cab from Logan that was accessible to make the short trip home to Newton. 6 cabs and about 2 hours later, I realized that was a problem.

During my adventure with Marianne, I tweeted my experience to Mayor Tom Menino, assuming that I would get an immediate reaction. It took some nudging, but I did eventually get a response from the Mayor’s Twitter account a week after the incident. I was put in touch with the Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Kristen McCosh. Ms. McCosh was generous with her time and uniquely sensitive to the challenges of traveling with a power wheelchair since she herself uses that form of transportation. To my surprise, she has experienced almost exactly the same kind of (non) service when trying to use a taxi in Boston.

Kristen McCosh, Commission for Persons with Disabilities, City of Boston

Kristen McCosh, Commission for Persons with Disabilities, City of Boston

While I was extremely pleased with Ms. McCosh’s conscientious follow up, I was concerned with the underlying problems that I discovered with the accessible taxi service for the City of Boston. According to Ms. McCosh, there are approximately 1,800 licensed cabs in Boston and approximately 100 of them are “accessible” vehicles. She further explained that many of the taxis were modified incorrectly, rendering them unusable by power wheelchair users. It turns out that the vendor who made the modifications was not qualified (per Kristen) to make accessible modifications. I was even more frustrated to find that nobody from the City of Boston (per Kristen) verified that these taxis were modified correctly.

Since Ms. McCosh started her tenure, she has personally inspected the voluminous issues with the current “accessible” fleet and is making some specific recommendations for changes. She warned me that the current fleet will not be modified or taken out of service because they are usable for certain riders in manual wheelchairs. With the life expectancy of a taxi between 6 and 7 years, it may be a very long time before reliable taxi service is available to power wheelchair users in Boston.

In my view, the city should never have accepted those taxi modifications and the city should be reimbursed for the faulty work. Those funds should be used to accelerate the deployment of truly accessible taxis in Boston. More than 20 years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is neither fair nor right that some citizens do not have access to basic public transportation.

Ms. McCosh is releasing a report on the accessible taxi service in September. I look forward to seeing the report and I hope the mayor supports her efforts to turn this untenable situation around.

My (terrible) experience getting an accessible taxi at Logan Airport

Posted on September 4, 2013 by PeterMahoney

After a wonderful vacation with my family, it was time to head home. Our flight landed at Logan at about 11:45pm and it took approximately 30 minutes to wait for the plane to empty out, wait for the aisle chair to get my daughter out of the plane and wait for her wheelchair to be brought up from the belly of the plane.

Our plan was to take 2 cabs home for the 20 minute ride from Logan to Newton Centre – one of my wife, two of the kids and the luggage and a second for me and my daughter Marianne with her wheelchair.

I did my research in advance and found that it was in fact possible to get a wheelchair-capable taxi at Logan:

http://www.massport.com/logan-airport/inside-airport/pages/accessibilitytofromlogan.aspx

The taxi line was very short and the wheelchair taxi showed up at the same time the rest of my family piled into their taxi to go home. This is when the excitement started:

Taxi 1. The first taxi the came was advertised as a wheelchair-capable taxi, but the driver looked at us and informed us that it didn’t “pass its inspection” and he wouldn’t be able to accommodate us. The Massport dispatcher gave the driver a piece of her mind and sent him on his way.

Taxi 1 - the first one that didn't fit.

Taxi 1 – the first one that didn’t fit.

Taxi 2. The second taxi showed up about 10 minutes later – it was a new minivan with the accessible ramp cut into the back. The driver looked like he never used the feature before and spent about 10 minutes trying to move the rear seat out of the way and ended up removing both rows of seats to get them out of the way. He took out the small extension ramp and loosely propped it up against the back of his van so Marianne could drive in. She got in the van as far as her chair would allow and it did not leave enough room to close the back door of the van. By this time, she was very tired and frustrated, but she backed out of van ad the dispatcher called another one. The person on the other end of mentioned that a Toyota Sienna accessible taxi might be the best solution.

Marianne is pretty tired by now

Marianne is pretty tired by now

Taxi 3. Within a few minutes, an accessible Sienna approached…and then sped by us without stopping.

Taxi 4. The person on the radio said they found another Sienna, but then I heard a minute later that the ramp on that one was not working.

Taxi 5. After a long wait, a fifth taxi showed up — and it was exactly like the first one that didn’t fit Marianne’s wheelchair.

Taxi 5 - same problem as Taxi 1

Taxi 5 – same problem as Taxi 1

Taxi 6. Just as Taxi 5 was leaving, Taxi 6 showed up. It was a Toyota Sienna and as advertised, Marianne’s chair fit in the back. The driver was extremely helpful and eager and carefully helped her into the car. When she got in, I saw that the taxi did not have wheelchair tie-downs or any seatbelt for the wheelchair passenger (I would never drive her in my personal van without the 250 lb. chair safely secured). We decided to press on without the safety features since it was so late.

We arrived at home around 2am safe and sound and I was reminded yet again how difficult it is for people in wheelchairs to accomplish the basic things that all the rest of us take for granted – even if they are promised as a basic right.

Travel By Wheelchair

Accessible Travel on Wheels

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