Girl About Town: Accessible Victoria

03/06/2024

On the weekend I attended the RAD Society’s ‘Langford Gearbox Launch’ and tried out a couple of amazing adaptive bikes. RAD Society’s mission is all about making BC’s great outdoors accessible for all by offering an inventory of adaptive equipment for low-cost rental, enabling everyone to experience the joy of outdoor recreation. It was envisioned and created by the indomitable Tanelle Bolt, a person who is a wheelchair user with paraplegia. Through the RAD Society, she is actively enabling folks with disabilities to get outside and recreate with an amazing group of likeminded individuals! What a successful launch, I met awesome people and had a great time!

16/05/2024

At the 9/11 Memorial, on Hallowed Ground - a very emotional and reflective place to be. Where were you on 9/11? None of us will ever forget that day…

15/05/2024

Grand by design ~ an iconic landmark

13/05/2024

New York has been so much fun from Greenwich Village & Chelsea Market food tours to Grand Central Station, the Met, 9/11 Memorial, Times Square, Top of the Rock, city bus tours, Carnegie Deli, a Broadway show and all 99.9 % accessible, plus more! OMG! Just a few more days to go…

12/05/2024

Having some great adventures in The City ♥️

01/05/2024

There are many Hidden (or non-visable) Disabilities like Diabetes, IBS, Chrohn’s Disease, Autism and Lupus, to name just a few. Sometimes with illnesses like MS, because of the nature of on-again/off-again symptoms, it might not be immediately obvious that a person has a disability and needs a helping hand or more time. Wearing a small sunflower pin discreetly indicates that the wearer might need extra time or assistance in public places.

Started back in 2016, the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Lanyard initiative was born at London’s Gatwick airport to voluntarily share that you have a disability or condition that may not be immediately apparent. Airport staff were trained to recognize the sunflower wearers and ensure they received the additional support, understanding and kindness they need during their air travel journey. The sunflower lanyard is not intended to replace existing procedures and programs, nor does it permit travellers to move ahead of others in line.

Many international airports (particularly in the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada) are now utilizing the Sunflower Lanyard program. Our own Victoria International Airport (YYJ) is currently launching the program, which is excellent news! Along with their award-winning Curbside Assistance program for people with disabilities, and Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Gold Certification, YYJ is
doing an incredible job of providing an airport that works hard so that ALL people can enjoy a positive travel experience, way to go YYJ!

15/03/2024

Hanging out at the 2024 BC Tourism Industry Conference, lots of excellent speakers, industry insights and networking opportunities 😊

12/03/2024

It's been a hot minute since I've posted a fantastic place you've got to check out but here it is, the Heron Rock Bistro in James Bay!

A James Bay gem! https://www.heronrockbistro.ca/ 250-383-1545 4-435 Simcoe Street, Victoria, BC V8V 1L4

08/01/2024

The new Starbucks in Sidney-by-the-Sea, British Columbia is bright, spacious and level with universal restrooms. Staff are friendly too 😊

Definitely worth your time to pop-by this busy town with lovely boutiques, quality restaurants and a friendly vibe.

Thank you very much Starbucks Coffee for your long time commitment to accessibility in the built environment - it doesn’t go unnoticed. 

17/12/2023

Did you know that you can check for Victoria parkade space availability (accessible or not) by clicking on this link? It’s super helpful, particularly this time of the year ~ happy shopping! 🎅🎅

Please note: When numbers show as negative, more drivers have entered the parkade than there are available spaces inside.

17/12/2023

Don’t forget to check out the Lights of Wonder display in Centennial Square on until the end of December, it’s free! Maybe bring some ‘special’ hot choc! 🌟🌟🌟

11/12/2023

Getting in the Christmas spirit at this extremely ACCESSIBLE venue. Thank you McPherson Playhouse 🎄🎅

21/09/2023

Dear Readers and Friends ~

My apologies for my long absence. I’ve had a very busy year and it seems like some explanation is required!

Back in January, I decided to take the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification program and wow! What an undertaking! While it’s true that I haven’t been in school/university of any kind in a number of years, it took just a tad of mental inertia to complete this challenging course designed for creative engineers and innovative architects, wishing to grow their businesses in the lucrative accessible market space.

Wowie zowie, this course was intense!

Incredibly interesting however, and not an easy course to pass, the Rick Hansen certification program was a true learning experience, in every sense of the word. I am now a certified professional Accessibility Consultant armed with a lot of knowledge about how the built environment should and should not work so that it’s accessible for everyone.

But like I’ve said right from the beginning, I don’t necessarily want to visit existing buildings and messy job sites, hard hat on my head and tape measure on my belt, as I measure precisely to the millimetre if a parking spot, sidewalk, room, hallway or elevator meets criteria.

I do want to understand though, what makes spaces accessible, whether they are office buildings, recreation centres or community parks, etc so that I come from a knowledgeable and educated place, when I advise clients WHY it’s so important to be accessible for ALL.

Along with getting back to my Girl About Town Accessible Victoria reviews, I’d like to speak, as a professional, to people/businesses/government agencies about disability, what it can look like and how people with all types of disabilities (a whopping 1 in almost 4 Canadians) need to be able to participate as fully in society as possible, just like everyone else. Change is happening but needs to happen faster!

Just for the record, and true to form for me, it hasn’t been all work and no play, lol. The last couple of years, I’ve really been enjoying concerts at the Royal and McPherson theatres, plus great performances at the Belfry. These venues are all extremely accessible and deserve reviews of their own, which I plan to get to soon!

PS My all-time favourite concert to date was The Sheepdogs with close runners up Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, Current Swell, Cowboy Junkies, April Wine, Amanda Marshall, Metric and Serena Ryder. Being a child of the ‘70s l loved Boney M too. Good times…

18/08/2023

Bottle of red, bottle of white…

This is such a great idea! Big heart. Generous heart.

FOR MORE :
A 62-year-old woman and her 26-year-old husband don’t care about the age difference and want to have a child.
See their photos👇(with full story)
https://www.aunett.com/a-62-year-old-woman-and-her-26-year-old-husband-dont-care-about-the-age-difference-and-want-to-have-a-child

03/07/2023

It’s an Island thing 😉 🐐

28/06/2023

Playing hooky on a summer Tuesday…

08/06/2023

Checking out this iconic Canadian landmark 🌊🍁🇨🇦

04/06/2023

Disability travelling made easy! Thank you for taking such good care of us Swoop! Next stop - a place neither of us has been before - Toronto + Niagara too!

06/05/2023

Here are the complete Tourism Accessibility Guides that I was involved with last year (I did all the writing plus some of the modeling) with Tourism Vancouver Island. Such a wonderful opportunity to see how businesses including hotels, restaurants, attractions and parks are making an effort to be accessible for ALL so that everyone gets to enjoy this beautiful place we call home.

Accessible Travel
Accessible Travel Club
AccessNow
Accessibility Matters
Access Trax

25/04/2023

A gorgeous day for a super yummy Mexican lunch (ultra authentic organic stone ground tortillas) at Maiiz Tortilleria and Eatery in the heart of Chinatown, Victoria BC - pop by for sure!

21/04/2023

Wonderful to see this beautiful cover for British Vogue’s May 2023 edition highlighting people with disabilities https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/vogue-disability-portfolio-2023

Powerful. Aspirational. Chic. From runways to galleries, stadiums to television screens, a vanguard of Disabled talent is changing perspectives and evolving industries.

21/04/2023

Love this beautiful woman showing that people with disabilities are also people that can have fantastic style!

Tara Moss

16/04/2023

Check out this MINT BUS we saw our way to our fave brunch/lunch spot earlier ♥️♥️
Bunny's Kitchen has decent accessibility with a ramped entrance, space inside to maneuver and friendly and accommodating staff. The bathroom is small and wouldn’t work for all mobility devices. The food is fresh and delicious, made with top quality ingredients and most importantly, LOVE.

Thanks Bun-bun, you and your gang are rad xo

Check out my full review of Bunny’s Kitchen and Cafe here
https://www.girlabouttown.ca/reviews1/bunnys-kitchen-cafe

12/04/2023

Popped out today for a ‘long flight’ of some delicious cider and some charcuterie - look at the weather, it’s nice and sunny! Yay 😎

Such an accessible business, all very level with decent space to move around and wheelchair friendly bathrooms - staff are friendly and helpful too! The views over the orchard and across to James Island and beyond are spectacular 🌟

🌸🌼🌺

30/03/2023

On such a gorgeous day, and only for TWO more days at this point, head on down to Clover point and check it out THE most delicious (and famous!) Melbourne coffee (must get the ‘flat white’) from Jacob at the Off Grid Camper Café - get a Yoyo biscuit too ☕️🇦🇺

Then if you’re up for it, take a little stride up to Snap Dawgs Mobile Doggery and get a delicious ball park hotdog with CARAMELIZED ONIONS (YUMMY!!) ~ I promise you won’t be sad about it! 🌭🌭

There are nine accessible parking spaces and the public washrooms are accessible and very modern too.

30/03/2023

On such a gorgeous day, and only for TWO more days at this point, head on down to Clover point and check it out THE most delicious (and famous!) Melbourne coffee (must get the ‘flat white’) from Jacob at the Off Grid Camper Café - get a Yoyo biscuit too ☕️🇦🇺

Then if you’re up for it, take a little stride up to Snap Dawgs Mobile Doggery and get a delicious ball park hotdog with CARAMELIZED ONIONS (YUMMY!!) ~ I promise you won’t be sad about it! 🌭🌭

There are nine accessible parking spaces and the public washrooms are accessible and very modern too.

Off-Grid Camper Cafe

29/03/2023

Checked out Marigold Café at 7900 Lochside Drive yesterday on the grounds of the old Marigold Nurseries yesterday ~ BIG changes to that little part of the peninsula. The café was great, and it was extremely accessible. 

06/02/2023

Such an amazing project to be a part of with 4VI (formerly Tourism Vancouver Island) - looking forward to working on more this year! 😊😊

The Vancouver Island Accessible Travel Guides are crafted by travellers with disabilities (both visible and invisible) to provide recommendations and share t...

06/02/2023

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=8983456268361433&id=186994444674370&mibextid=qC1gEa

23/01/2023

I was contracted by Destination Greater Victoria to write this extensive blog about accessible places to stay, accessible restaurants to visit and accessible and interesting things to do in our fair city 😊😊

Check it out for GREAT ideas if you have a friend or family member with a mobility limitation!

https://www.tourismvictoria.com/blog/accessibility-victoria

What makes Victoria extra special these days, is the ease with which travellers of all abilities can take advantage of the world class activities, luxurious accommodations and delicious dining choices as more and more local businesses see the tremendous benefits of being Accessible for All.