An insight into how accessible Galway city is, through the eyes of the disabled people who navigate through it.
The members of Galway’s branch of Access for All are exhausted. The members, Vyonne Fahy, Eamon MacGiobúan and Gina McNamara have been advocating for disabled residents of Galway city for long enough that it can feel like they’re burning the candle at both ends.
“There’s times I just give up. I’m burnt out,” said McNamara with a sigh. “We are fighting and fighting, and fighting and fighting.”
“It’s just depressing,” agreed McGiobúan.
In a time where social awareness has never been so significant, the lengths disabled and differently abled people in Galway have to go to for taxis, buses, even using pavements which come with serious impediments which is “depressing” and “disappointing.”
Public transport
The layout of the city’s buses and the lack of space given to wheelchair chair users and parents with buggies, mean that often there is competition to even get on the bus between the two, and sometimes even between wheelchair users.
“There can be a day where there will be another wheelchair user onboard, which means that the bus driver will just say to you, you can’t get on. You could be going to an appointment in town and this will mean you could be waiting for forty minutes outside for another one,” said Yvonne Fahy who is a wheelchair user herself.
The point is seconded by guide dog and white cane user, Gina McNamara, who says she uses the priority seats which are usually in the first two rows of seating on the bottom floor of the bus with it intended to provide easy access to vulnerable bus users.
“Those seats are my first port of call, but there’s always people sitting there, and they wont move,” said McNamara, frustrated. “In terms of Yvonne and myself, there are times where they just don’t respect us.”
All agree that many bus drivers are very kind and helpful, but all of the members of Access for All agree that more training is needed to help all public transport workers to understand that things like waiting for a wheelchair user to be in place before starting the bus, is crucially important.
Taxis
When the topic of accessibility with taxis in the city, Eamon MacGiobúan references the fact that most taxis in the city have a sticker on their cars stating that they’re ‘wheelchair accessible’, but “when you go to find one, especially during times like the races or a busy time, they’re nowhere to be found.”
For Yvonne, this is a common occurrence coupled with the fact that often wheelchair accessible taxis in the city have extra seats added to accomodate more passengers therefore resulting in greatly reduced room for herself and her wheelchair.
“I have one example, where I got into a taxi and I couldn’t fit and I was on my own at the time. My sister had gone, because she had seen me getting into the taxi and assumed it was OK. I got into the taxi and realised that I couldn’t fit. The driver was trying to ram me into the spot and they don’t understand the expense of the chair, so they’ll just kind of try and push you in.
“Since they couldn’t fit me in, I rang another company, they couldn’t accommodate me. Then rang another and they said they wouldn’t have a taxi free for at least an hour. Rang another company, and the same story. So I was on my own.”
Eamon, Yvonne and Gina say these experiences are not unique, and something that Access for All have been highlighting and trying to change or disabled, differently abled and parents of disabled children across the city.
Outdoor dining
The pandemic introduced outdoor dining system, in some areas of the city, is a cause for concern for disabled residents of Galway. Streets which had previously been accessible are now altered by the introduction of tables, seats and dividers. No one in Access for All is calling for an end to this practice, just some mindfulness and awareness that even though outdoor dining has come to the city, disabled residents still need to get around.
For Yvonne, one experience in the city stands out when discussing outdoor dining. Some businesses have incorporated the footpaths into their designated outdoor dining area, setting up gazebos and campus barriers that cut off the access on the pathway.
“I did ask the manager to come out and help let me pass by removing some chairs, but what they said to me was that they had full permission from Galway City Council for them to be able to use these pathways and for me to go and get a ramp from one of the other bars below.
“I did then get a ramp from somewhere down the road, kind enough to give me one, but the reason they had one to hand was because just recently, one of the members from Access for All had been campaigning for businesses to get ramps,” said Yvonne.
Access for All
Overall, the exhaustion and weariness Yvonne, Eamon, Gina and other members of Access for All feel while just trying to live their lives in the city they call home, weighs heavily. They welcome further discussions with the City Council on how to make Galway an accessible city, but need people to be aware of their existence and how to make space for everybody, regardless of mobility, disability and age.
“We want action and less talk,” said Gina.
