I stood at the intersection of College and Spadina, waiting for the 510 streetcar. Across from me were a Shawarma Max and a Taco Bell.
A woman in an automatic wheelchair drove up to the Taco Bell. She pressed the automatic door opener—nothing. She pressed it again—nothing. Four people walked past, but not one offered assistance. She pressed it again, this time keeping her hand on the button and pressing it four consecutive times quickly, the act making a "1-2-3-4, tum-tum-tum-tum" sound—nothing. Three more people passed by. No staff from Taco Bell came to her aid. I looked west to see if the streetcar was on the way, thinking I could cross the street and open the door for her.
As she readied herself to try the button again, a young Asian man intercepted and opened the door to its full capacity for her, using his body as a stopper to keep it open as she wheeled in. I don't know if she said thank you—I was too far away, and the young man, facing the side of the road and facing me, didn't seem to speak. Once she was inside Taco Bell, he pushed off the door and proceeded to wherever he was going.
As I stood observing, I thought: why didn't any of the employees come to her aid?
I could hear every time she pressed the button, and I was all the way across the street! Maybe they didn't know, or didn't hear? But then I thought, as a business, isn't it the responsibility of the owner or management to ensure all accessibility accommodations are in working order? Shouldn't regular operational maintenance checks be done daily, and signage be put in place to notify potential users if it's not working?
It is a simple thing, but a powerfully impactful thing to those dependent on accessibility considerations to live their everyday lives. I mean, this one moment impacted her ability to feed herself; she couldn't even open the door to gain access just to be able to feed herself.
So much is taken for granted.
#Accessibility, #Toronto, #Advocacy
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