It’s difficult to work out how it’s possible to build an exhibition for someone who campaigned tirelessly for disability and then not make it accessible for people with disabilities, but that is seemingly what’s happening right now over in Ireland in the UK.
Kay McShane was a noted wheelchair athlete who lived a long life marked with many achievements. She participated in the Paralympic Games, took home three meals, won the London Marathon wheelchair race three times in a row and campaigned tirelessly for disabilities and advocated for people struggling with them. She was a pioneer in the country and passed away in 2019.
It was going to be the case that there was an exhibition that would take place where she was born, but recent disputes have arisen regarding the lack of wheelchair-friendly travel in the area. The public transport that would take visitors to the exhibition is apparently not wheelchair-friendly, which has prompted concerns from the family that this will require changing before the exhibition can go ahead.
Understandably, it’s very confusing to us how somebody who campaigned for wheelchair advocacy can have an exhibition created for them and then wheelchair-accessible transportation not be considered as part of the equation. It seems like it should be a very straightforward logical progression, but this is not the case, which is why there are rumours that the exhibition will be delayed until the transport problem can be resolved.
As support workers Gold Coast, we find this ridiculous, to say the least. It’s clearly very poor planning that leads to something like this happening, but at the same time, it’s very disappointing to witness. Without proper accessibility in place, lots of people who may have regarded this woman as a hero or role model can’t visit the exhibition to learn about her life.
It’s a pretty bad way to handle things, and it speaks to a general lack of foresight when it comes to things like creating travel options for people who have disabilities. It’s very common for these types of people to be neglected when it comes to planning travel arrangements and offering resources. This is fairly ridiculous because it means that some people simply cannot use that public transport to get around, even though they would benefit massively from having access.
We can only hope that the situation is resolved quickly and that there are proper resources provided for those who are in wheelchairs that want to travel up to the exhibition. Sites like these are an important part of disabled culture, and having access to a place where people can leave thoughts and feelings is very important. There is no doubt that this woman was something of an icon, and to see this take place is disheartening, to say the least. Whoever designed this particular transport solution should definitely rethink what they were basing the decision on and make a better one moving forward.