4 ms·

Amazing. I am ashamed to say, but I was somewhat ignorant to issues of accessibility, and not just for those in wheelchairs. A partially sighted friend asked m

Amazing. I am ashamed to say, but I was somewhat ignorant to issues of accessibility, and not just for those in wheelchairs. A partially sighted friend asked me; "do you think I'd be able to walk that trail?" Despite it being somewhat technical, I didn't fully grasp his limitations. Long story short, it was a bit of a disaster when we tried it together. We're in the middle of working on projects using panoramic imagery + computer vision + OSM to grade UK trails and their accessibility. The idea being show, don't tell. I'm going to send an email via your contact form. I would really appreciate the opportunity to ask you a few questions.

holgerd 6y ago
sure, please contact me and my team here: https://news.wheelmap.org/en/contact/ https://news.wheelmap.org/en/contact/
bluGill 6y ago
It gets hard quick to answer these questions because each disability is unique. I once knew a woman get out of her wheelchair and walk up 3 stairs. She needed help to make that walk but she was able to do it (don't tell her doctor) . Others could not do that walk at all.
- voltagex_ 6y ago
  A term I've used is "ambulatory wheelchair user" - there are lots of us! I think it's more important to have the information available. I might not go to a place with a step at the entrance by myself but if I have people with me I can decide that I'll risk it.
- curryst 6y ago
  Even beyond being unique, disabilities are usually designated with cliffs rather than a gradient. People with an ambulatory disability are lumped in as "can walk with cane", "can walk with walker", or "cannot walk, must use wheelchair" ignoring the fact that some people exist on boundaries, or might oscillate between two depending on what they're doing or how they're feeling. It seems like it would be nice to have a better classification system for the challenges a particular terrain poses. While having videos to see what the trail looks like is definitely a step up, it seems like a pain in the ass to have to watch someone walk it (and it would ruin a bit of the wonder for me, personally). I wonder if it's possible to condense the terrain down to a series of "potentially problematic features". I'm not an expert in accessibility, so I don't know what exactly one would flag, but things that come to mind would be rough terrain (inaccessible by typical wheelchair, accessible by ruggedized wheelchair), rough terrain (inaccessible by any wheelchair), non-smooth terrain (debris on trail could trip someone, accessible by any wheelchair), gradient in excess of X%, whether the trail is shared with bicyclists, etc. I do worry about the data the operator would have access to, though. And even if we assume the operator is above reproach, I would worry that hackers would get access to the data. It's not something that I would want to host personally, just because of the risk of causing harm if the data were to be stolen.

holgerd 6y ago

sure, please contact me and my team here: https://news.wheelmap.org/en/contact/ https://news.wheelmap.org/en/contact/

bluGill 6y ago

It gets hard quick to answer these questions because each disability is unique. I once knew a woman get out of her wheelchair and walk up 3 stairs. She needed help to make that walk but she was able to do it (don't tell her doctor) . Others could not do that walk at all.

voltagex_ 6y ago
A term I've used is "ambulatory wheelchair user" - there are lots of us! I think it's more important to have the information available. I might not go to a place with a step at the entrance by myself but if I have people with me I can decide that I'll risk it.
curryst 6y ago
Even beyond being unique, disabilities are usually designated with cliffs rather than a gradient. People with an ambulatory disability are lumped in as "can walk with cane", "can walk with walker", or "cannot walk, must use wheelchair" ignoring the fact that some people exist on boundaries, or might oscillate between two depending on what they're doing or how they're feeling. It seems like it would be nice to have a better classification system for the challenges a particular terrain poses. While having videos to see what the trail looks like is definitely a step up, it seems like a pain in the ass to have to watch someone walk it (and it would ruin a bit of the wonder for me, personally). I wonder if it's possible to condense the terrain down to a series of "potentially problematic features". I'm not an expert in accessibility, so I don't know what exactly one would flag, but things that come to mind would be rough terrain (inaccessible by typical wheelchair, accessible by ruggedized wheelchair), rough terrain (inaccessible by any wheelchair), non-smooth terrain (debris on trail could trip someone, accessible by any wheelchair), gradient in excess of X%, whether the trail is shared with bicyclists, etc. I do worry about the data the operator would have access to, though. And even if we assume the operator is above reproach, I would worry that hackers would get access to the data. It's not something that I would want to host personally, just because of the risk of causing harm if the data were to be stolen.