Public urged to help with new access app
COULD YOU imagine organising a trip and by the time you are at the hotel, restaurant or pub you cannot access the place?
A new app called ‘It’s Accessible’ is making it easier to find out which business and public spaces have access for all. For example, Tesco on the Vevay road in Bray, has a high level of mobility access. They have automatic doors, toilets and wide aisles. However, the store does not have braille. Imagine that you are visiting a new town and you would like to have something to eat or a cup of tea.
So, then you could check the app and see what restaurant or pub has better level of mobility. In Bray, you will see that the Mermaid theatre and café has automatic doors, toilet and seating for wheelchair users. Catalan man Juan José Bilbao Junquera, who has Multiple Arthrogryposis and uses a wheelchair, created the app.
The aim of the app was to enable its creator and others to go to places all over the world and be able to access them.
It is the public who go to the app and rate each location. ‘It’s Accessible’ is a new product so while a number of locations have been reviewed in Bray, there are more to complete. The creator of the app hopes to encourage everyone to participate and make everyday life, tourism, and leisure much easier for everyone in the community. The more people who get involved the more information will be available for those who need it.
We have our phones in our hands all the time, so it takes just a few seconds to evaluate if the place has access, toilets, automatic doors or stairs, and let others know.