Did anyone test the wheelchair access?

I have the feeling that in many instances, the answer to this question will be "NO".

We had guests last week, so we took them to various tourist spots in Vancouver and on Vancouver Island. We took my loaner wheelchair with us so I could participate. 

That sign, that sign with the wheelchair on it, that promising sign is NOT a guarantee that someone in a wheelchair will be able to go into an area and be able to do activities in it - and then get back out of it.

Washrooms typically have a handicap stall - it's the one with the big door and grab bars on the walls. That doesn't mean you can make it INTO the stall if you are in a wheelchair. Notably, the Vancouver Aquarium has obstacle courses of waste baskets set up in their washrooms so anyone in a wheelchair will be fighting to get into a handicap stall. And good luck if there is anyone else in the washroom lined up waiting for a stall. Thankfully, I can still walk short distances, so after that I left my wheelchair outside washrooms with someone watching it whenever I used the washroom.

Handicapped access to Butchart Gardens in Victoria means that most of their garden areas have access without stairs. This does NOT mean that someone in a manual wheelchair can access the gardens. The gardens are sunken into an old limestone quarry. This means a LOT of down, followed by a LOT of getting back up. Unless you are an athlete, you cannot push yourself up or control your descent down in this garden. Unless you have a motorized wheelchair, you must have athletically built help. I saw many straining people pushing at wheelchairs, and I challenged my husband a couple of times when I strayed into a garden area that promised wheelchair access. My advice, if you don't have a motorized wheelchair and a full charge on the battery, don't go to Butchart Gardens. The handicapped access promise just means no stairs, not accessibility.

So I'm really wondering if architects and designers even consider getting into a wheelchair to test their designs for accessibility. Did anyone ever test the building codes around wheelchair access? Do washroom cleaning people ever see what happens to people in wheelchairs if they put trash bins everywhere in the washrooms?

This need for a wheelchair is an eye opening experience for me. I think all public building designers should get into a wheelchair and experience the world from down here. 

Yep, I can see how some wheelchair-bound people can be really angry individuals... breath, relax, boy I can't wait for my yoga classes to start up again.