Huron Expositor, 2015-12-16, Page 11Wednesday, December 16, 2015 • Huron Expositor 11
MDHS students map accessible businesses in Mitchell
Galen Simmons
Postmedia Network
At Mitchell District High
School (MDHS) Dec. 3, students
in Scott Hlusiak's Grade 7 class
were introduced to the notion of
mapping businesses that are
accessible to people with physi-
cal disabilities through an app
called AXSMAP.
AXSMAP is available on all
smart phones and tablets and
allows people with disabilities
to see an online map of the busi-
nesses around them that have
accessible entrances and bath-
rooms. The app also lets people,
disabled or not, rate a business'
accessibility out of five stars to
help others determine whether
they can shop or eat at that busi-
ness without seeking help from
a third party.
At MDHS, Julia Opie, the
accessibility coordinator for
Perth County, explained that
accessible businesses allow
people with disabilities the free-
dom to shop and eat wherever
they like.
"You saw what the municipal-
ity did with whole street, right -
the main street in Mitchell?
They raised the level of the
street, they raised the level of
the sidewalks, so almost all the
businesses downtown are flush
with the sidewalk," Opie said. "If
you're in a wheelchair, you can
scoot right into the business,
which is huge for somebody
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with a disability. Even one step
can make a world of difference
to somebody in a wheelchair or
somebody with a walker, or even
somebody who has a cane."
Since Dec. 3 was International
Day for Persons with Disabili-
ties, Opie told the Grade 7 stu-
dents that they would have a
chance to help map and rate
Mitchell's downtown businesses
on how accessible they are to
people with disabilities using
the AXSMAP app.
"There are people in your
community who have these dis-
abilities, so by making Mitchell
accessible for people who live in
the community, or who might
say, 'You know what, let's go to
Mitchell and do our Christmas
shopping - now that I'm in a
wheelchair, which businesses
can I get into?"' Opie said.
Students were then told they
would be walking downtown
once Opie was done speaking to
evaluate and rate each business,
information which was later put
into the AXSMAP app so people
with disabilities can know which
of Mitchell's businesses they are
able to patronize.
"Is there a step? Is there one
or two steps? What about the
space within the building? It's
one thing to be able to get in,
but if they have all kinds of stuff
on the floor, or the aisle -ways
are really narrow, can a wheel-
chair get around it?" Opie
explained. "You have to think
about being in a wheelchair as
you go through and rate these
businesses, and think about
whether you can get by without
knocking things off the shelves.
Is the washroom accessible?
Can I go here or is there stairs to
go down to the washroom - that
means if I'm in a restaurant, I
can't go to the washroom."
After watching a few introduc-
tory videos about AXSMAP, stu-
dents then walked downtown,
visited as many businesses as
they could over the course of an
hour, and collected data which
was later added to the AXSMAP
international accessibility map
to allow people from across the
globe to see which businesses in
Mitchell are accessible.
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The Municipality of Central Huron Council and
MunicippIStaff join together to wish, you
peace and serenity this holiday season.
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entral Huron
THE MUNICIPALITY
OF CENTRAL HURON
PLEASE NOTE:
THE MUNICIPAL OFFICE
WILL BE CLOSED
THURSDAY DECEMBER 24, 2015
AT NOON AND
REMAIN CLOSED UNTIL
MONDAY JANUARY 4, 2016
AT 8:30AM
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