We rode wheelchairs around campus for our second lab section. For three hours, everyone in our class was equipped with a wheelchair and given a set of tasks to complete. Those tasks included: getting a drink from a water fountain, using the bathroom, and looking for a book in Hayden library.
The entrance to Lobby 7, an iconic view that would apparently be ruined by installing a more accessible ramp.
Right away, I found out that navigating campus in a wheelchair is a very difficult task, requiring backtracking multiple times in order to make it to the library. Afterwards, I decided that I wanted to go to the student center across the street. Going from Lobby 7 to the street took me three minutes. Three minutes instead of a handful of seconds, for anyone who can simply take the stairs.
My experience navigating in the wheelchair was not bad, when compared with what my classmates had happen. One person wanted to board the Tech Shuttle, but the ramp to get on was broken. Another classmate was physically lifted by strangers to get him into a too-full elevator, without asking permission. Others got stuck in construction because the sidewalk was gone, and someone had to help them out.
MIT does have accessibility information online. They have a map that details accessibility features of campus that you can download. MIT also has an app. This app includes many useful features, including a list of helpful links. However, accessibility information is not in that app, nor is it even linked to. Additionally, however nice the accessibility map of campus is, it is static, unable to update to show construction hazards. It would be nice if there was a map as part of the app that showed construction hazards on a more real-time basis. In addition to making campus more accessible, MIT needs to seriously consider how accessible their accessibility information is.
You raise excellent points, and it is something a class project has looked at in the past, but for BC’s campus. Overall good post, but it would have been really helpful to link to the MIT accessibility website so readers could quickly see what is available. Screen shots of the app and a link to where it can be downloaded would also be really beneficial.