Saturday, November 28, 2009

Where is the best handicapped washroom?

The best handicapped washroom I've ever been in is on one of the new BC Ferries Coastal ships!

Press large buttons to open the door. The door closes automatically behind you. There is a big button on the wall to lock and unlock the door. There is plenty of room for any maneuvering you want to do, and the toilet has lots of hand rails. The sink is totally accessible. Then press the unlock button and the open door button, and try to avoid exclaiming too loudly "This is the best washroom ever!" as you leave the room :)

I didn't really expect to be using my wheelchair onboard the ship, I can still get around with walking sticks - more slowly than most species of turtles, and not for long distances, but it's still easier to maneuver without the wheelchair. But as we were going through the payment booths at the ferry terminal the woman asked "Is that a wheelchair?" We had my manual chair in the backseat of the car because the trunk was full of our luggage. So my spouse said yes, and we got a special handicapped person sign to put on our dashboard and got to go to the front of the line! As we were boarding the ship all of the traffic was stopped and the person directing cars came and asked "What can we do for you?" So we asked to be near the elevator, and he said "Do you need extra room to get out?" So we said "Sure!" and were directed to tell the person who directed us to our spot to make sure we had room. So the person who directed us to our spot laid down traffic cones from where we parked at the front end of the boat back to the elevators so we would have room to get the wheelchair to the elevator.

At this point, we decided there was no way we could leave the chair in the backseat - it would just seem rude!

There's lots of room on this planet! So I have to say the new Coastal class ferries have a vast amount of space on them - for parking, for your butt while sitting in a lounge chair, for wheelchairs in the cafeteria area (every table is accessible), and in the washroom! It's like we've all come from Lilliput to visit!

And the handicapped washroom has got to be the best designed washroom ever!

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