Tag: transit

Quickly explore Miami Beach and South Beach with your wheelchair

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A bicyclist rides down a paved path with palm trees.
This path goes for several miles along the beach and makes for fast access up and down South Beach.

All up and down the Miami Beach and South Beach areas is an exceptional paved path and boardwalk. Consider it your “wheelchair highway” while you are visiting Miami.

During my most recent visit (March 2019) I made sure I would cut over to the beach pathway every time I needed to move north or south along the beaches. There are no stop signs, no lights, and it’s not overloaded with people.

I used the path to get from the hotel to South Pointe Park and back in much less time than taking the roads. Of course if you haven’t gotten to see the art deco hotels and things along the street, you’re going to want to do that first!

The path felt safe even at night as it is well-lit and people meander along it at all times.

I highlighted the area in yellow on the map. I’ve taken it as far north as Indian Beach park where I believe it stops.

If you have to go anywhere along the beach or adjacent streets, the pathways are void of stop signs and lights and you can get there quickly in a power chair!

The Singapore Metro for wheelchair users

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I was able to take the metro from my hotel station to the botanical gardens and back — no problem!

I mentioned in my summary of a weekend in Singapore that the metro was one of the best I’d ever used. It’s true. It was empowering and great. Here’s some info.

There is virtually zero gap

I rode the metro for probably thirty journeys and only one time was the gap psychologically challenging, but I zipped over it anyway and it was fine. Here’s a video of the typical gap.

This is a very typical gap I traversed frequently with my power chair. No problem!

The routes are few & easy

There are boards with maps and stops in every modern station. After a few rides, you will know which direction you need to go if you memorize the endpoints. If you go the wrong way, just get off at any station and go to the other platform and go the other direction.

There’s a station at the airport

The metro doesn’t run late or very early in the morning, but if you’re looking for a cheap option for getting from the airport, there is a station right there. You can buy the Singapore Visitor pass for the metro after you enter the station and use it throughout your trip.

Follow the tactile paths

Although the target audience for these are the blind and visually impaired these come in handy as a sort of “Silver Brick Road” for wheelchair users too. There are tactile paths from the entrances to the elevators to the platforms, so you can follow those and make your station visit even easier.

If you need help at any time, just about every station has an attendant or guard who will help you.

Accessible options for getting from Milwaukee to Chicago O’Hare airport

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Photo by Alex Powell on Pexels.com

I live in Wisconsin but am taking a flight from Chicago O’Hare to Tokyo this weekend. Getting to O’Hare from Milwaukee is an inconvenient puzzle.

  • Driving is fine but O’Hare daily parking is expensive ($10/day for Economy G but you have to take a bus then the tram. $17/day for Economy E if you want to hop the tram. Tram is super easy and the bus from G is accessible, but still it’s pricey for a week!
  • Wisconsin Coach has a bus but it takes over 2 hours and you have to pre-arrange an accessible bus. If your flight is delayed on the way home, you might be stuck without a return trip if the accessible bus leaves. Costs $32 each way.
  • Uber has accessible rides FROM O’Hare to Milwaukee (around $120-150) but not to O’Hare from Milwaukee.
  • Amtrak ($25 one way to Chicago) has Hiawatha trains from downtown Milwaukee to Glenview or Union Station, but you’ll have to hop an accessible Uber, CTA train (station change) or Metra (with connection) to get to O’Hare.
  • There is a Hilton right at the airport, which can be a life saver if you get in late. Then you can check in and worry about getting home the next day. I’ve planned on doing this twice but then decide to take an Uber late and sleep in my own bed. Don’t rely on accessible Ubers, however. I’ve been lucky twice with this plan but I’m sure one of these times no accessible Uber will be available.

The only perfect solution is to have someone drive me in my own van, but ain’t nobody want to drive 3+ hours round trip TWICE to pick my ass up, so forget it. I don’t even like driving myself down there!

This time around I am trying the Amtrak / CTA route since the weather will be ok. I will probably go down there the day before and get a last minute hotel deal. This will take the pressure off on Saturday when my flight is.