How can Kansas City be more accessible? ‘Recognize that disabled people are here’

“The vast majority of nondisabled people don’t see — and certainly don’t feel — the experiences of disabled folks.”

That line from Kansas City author Rebekah Taussig’s memoir “Sitting Pretty” succinctly sums up her experience living in the metro area as a disabled person who uses a wheelchair. Taussig, who grew up in Overland Park, lives in the Strawberry Hill neighborhood of Kansas City, Kansas, with her husband, Micah, and young son, Otto.

She spoke to The Star about her experience navigating the city with a disability and how citizens, business owners and city leaders can make Kansas City a more accessible place for all. Responses have been lightly edited for clarity.

How accessible would you say Kansas City is?

I think it depends on what part of the city you want to go to. You just have to learn what places are accessible and which ones aren’t. And there’s plenty that are. Usually the suburbs are a lot more accessible, but that’s not where I like to hang out. So the most interesting places are usually the least accessible, in my experience.

A lot of the older neighborhoods are tricky because of parking. Parking is a maze there anyways. Then imagine if you’re trying to find an accessible spot, and you’re trying to find a spot where you can actually get a chair out.

Can you share an example of how inaccessible spaces impact your life?

I think what’s most heartbreaking to witness is when a coffee shop or a bar is doing renovations and then the renovations are not accessible or even less accessible than they were before. There was such a great opportunity for this to be more welcoming and inclusive — and now it’s less so.

There was a place in Strawberry Hill that Micah and I used to go to a lot, and it was inaccessible. But Micah would bring me because it’s cute and it’s in our neighborhood. During the pandemic, they did all of these renovations, and they actually built a ramp. But it’s too narrow for a chair. It’s only for sound equipment. And so it’s like you went to all of the effort of building this thing, and you also know that you have at least one customer that uses a wheelchair. I think it was just this crystallizing moment of like, “Oh, wow, if you don’t know about this, and you don’t know why this matters ...”

There are other places in Kansas City that technically have a way that you can eventually get inside. Like if you just call ahead, you can take this lift up and we’ll unlock it for you. And I mean, I’m glad that’s technically there, but I don’t go to those places. It’s just a hassle.

How can Kansas Citians help make our city more accessible?

Step one is maybe just recognizing that there are a lot of disabled people here.

I think that there might be this assumption that it’s incredibly rare and that there’s not very many people who have those needs. I think that part of that perspective is created because disabled people aren’t going to your spaces because they’re not accessible.

And then I would love — I cannot even tell you what it would mean — if someone who owned a bar in this neighborhood, or someone who was working on a renovation at a school, was like, “Hey, what would be better? What would make this easier? What changes could be made? How could we arrange this space?” I think that would be incredible and it would be an honor. And it would be exciting. I think it would actually change the space in a really important and good way for everyone.

This story was originally published October 6, 2021 at 5:00 AM.