ODOT workers experience life with ‘new wheels’
The Oregon Department of Transportation’s Disability for a Day event Thursday in Bend gave agency workers a chance to spend a day in someone else’s shoes — or in this case, on wheels — getting firsthand experience that helped them see how to improve accessibility on streets, highways and in office spaces.
ODOT workers partnered with a spotter, got in a wheelchair and tried out various activities, like riding a bus and using a traffic light button on a street.
Many found the experience quite challenging.
” It’s a good experience for people who don’t have a familiarity with people who have a physical or mental disorder, ” said Brenda Gessner , maintenance coordinator. ” It is probably the first time these folks have been in a situation where they have to motorize, either through a wheelchair or walker. ”
The spotters that supported ODOT workers in wheelchairs said it was difficult to stand by and not give assistance when they needed it. Administrative specialist Kasey Davey had a hard time remaining hands-off.
” It’s so hard, because if you see someone struggling to get through a door, the natural thing for most people to do is to go and open it, ” Davey said. ” We were trying to be hands-off and let people see what it is like if no one else is around, or if everyone else is busy. Then it’s really tough. ”
After the event, workers gathered together to discuss what they had learned and how they could better serve people with various disabilities.
Some immediate changes ODOT workers said they will implement are better street signs and water fountains for the visually impaired. The long-term goals will be fixing curb ramps and uneven sidewalks.
Ben Hill, who has been using a wheelchair all his life, says some people take for granted how they can easily do various tasks, but now ODOT workers have a better perspective of what he goes through every day.
” I have heard a lot of people say, ‘This is way harder than I thought it was going to be,’ ‘Thank you for doing this’ and ‘ Thank you for teaching us about what you go through on a day-to day-basis. It was much harder, and I learned a lot, ” Hill said.
