A matter of access
Wheelchair user keeps blog to rate places on how accessible they are to handicapped
(Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff)
Kenny Cieplik at the front door of Eastern Bank in downtown Plymouth, which he is unable to enter because its step is too high.
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PLYMOUTH - Kenny Cieplik leaned forward and peered through the storefront window of the Old Tyme Photo shop in downtown Plymouth. He tapped on the door. No one answered.
Cieplik and his mother, Paula, looked down at the threshold. The small step was just a few inches off the ground, but it was an insurmountable barrier for Cieplik's 350-pound power wheelchair.
"Is there a handicapped entrance?" Paula Cieplik asked, poking her head inside.
"I don't believe so," replied the young woman behind the counter. "Sorry."
Cieplik moved on to the next store, the Towne Crier Gift Shoppe, only to find a similar raised entry.
Such is life for the 33-year-old Middleborough resident, who has spent most of his life in a wheelchair. But the day's events were not just another frustration - they were included in his blog, TheTravelingWheelchair.com.
Cieplik visits all types of establishments - banks, beaches, post offices, libraries, restaurants, and parks - and rates them on wheelchair accessibility, using a scale of zero to five stars. (Zero is bad, five stars is best.)
The result: an emerging map-by-blog that paints a picture of the region's accessibility - from a wheelchair user's perspective.
Since March, Cieplik and company have reviewed dozens of places, including the Hideaway Restaurant in Middleborough (zero stars), the Quincy Center Post Office (5 stars), Onset Beach (2 stars), Massasoit Community College in Brockton (4 stars), Sedell's Pharmacy in Lakeville (3 stars), and the Raynham Public Library (1 star).
The blog is getting results.
In May, Cieplik posted a review of the
"When you see the comments on the site, you can see the impact he's been making," said Kathleen Kenney, an orientation and mobility specialist who works with Cieplik.
Every review on TheTravelingWheelchair.com contains recommendations on how the place can improve its rating. For example, based on the recent trip to Old Tyme Photo, Cieplik suggested the shop install small threshold ramps, which can be purchased for under $100. "They even sell portable ones," said Paula Cieplik.
Many businesses - Old Tyme Photo among them - take his concerns to heart.
Ruth Short, owner of Old Tyme Photo, said she regrets that Cieplik couldn't get into the studio that day. The studio rents the space in what she called an "ancient" building, one that preceded accessibility requirements. "It's not that we're ignorant of it. We're trying to do everything we can do," she said.
The owner of the Hideaway Restaurant in Middleborough, Damon DesRosiers, said it would be too expensive - or close to impossible - to install the ramp or elevator needed to make the two-centuries-old building wheelchair-accessible.
"I can't argue with the fact that we have poor access," he said. "It's a very difficult situation . . . a logistical nightmare."
Cieplik didn't always have trouble getting around. He was an athletic boy until age 11. On Jan. 30, 1987, while he and his family were on their way to ski in New Hampshire, Kenny developed a severe headache. It turned out to be a brain aneurysm, and when he awoke from a coma eight months later, he was legally blind and unable to move.
Cieplik still has vision problems, and his lung volume is low, so he speaks in a breathy whisper. He often spells out words with his fingers - tracing each letter on his thigh - to communicate with others. Despite his physical limitations, Cieplik lives in a condominium on Meadowlark Drive in Middleborough.
Because he cannot type, Cieplik relies on others to help post reviews on TheTravelingWheelchair.com. The website was launched last winter. Its reviews focus on details that able-bodied people often overlook: Are there handicap parking spaces nearby? Is there a ramp? Is the entrance wide enough for a wheelchair? Are there safety rails in the bathroom? Are the pipes underneath the sink covered? (Pipes can burn the knees of someone in a wheelchair.)
One recent blog post recounted Cieplik's visit to the Cabby Shack Restaurant & Pub in Plymouth. To get upstairs, Cieplik had to ride in what he called a freight elevator. The elevator doors on both floors were blocked by tables, so the staff had to interrupt people's meals to get the wheelchairs through.
There's a real need to highlight these accessibility problems, according to Jean Ann McLaughlin, editor of the Cape Cod Disability Access Directory (www.capecoddisability.org). Some businesses aren't aware of what they can do to become more accessible. "You deal with a lot of mom and pop businesses, and they think it's going to cost a lot of money. It doesn't necessarily cost that much money," she said.
On the blog, Cieplik notes not just accessibility issues, but attitude issues.
"Does the waitress look at him when they take his order? That's important to him," said Tony Correia, who has worked with Cieplik for 14 years. "A lot of people look at us" to answer for him. "And we say, 'Well, ask him. He knows what he wants.' "
On a recent afternoon, Cieplik was accompanied by his mother and three staffers - Correia, Ric Conlon, and Kellie Barros - on a trip to downtown Plymouth.
After parking in a handicap parking space near the Plymouth waterfront, the group strolled along the Pilgrim Memorial State Park, which faces the harbor. Cieplik rolled along beside them in his black power wheelchair.
They stopped at the corner of Leyden Street to look at the Pilgrim Maiden statue. Tourists and sightseers usually toss coins in the pool for good luck. Unfortunately, Cieplik couldn't get near the fountain because there was a small step. He attempted a toss from the sidewalk. (No luck.) In his blog, Cieplik gave the Pilgrim Maiden site zero stars.
Later, Cieplik went into Pebbles Restaurant for lunch. Cieplik had no problem getting inside, but the outdoor dining area had round cement tables with attached benches, leaving no space for a wheelchair. Cieplik enjoyed his meal, and gave the restaurant three stars.
Then the group wandered over to the Plymouth Rock portico, which is under construction and surrounded by wooden boards and scaffolding. Cieplik couldn't step up to the small plexiglass window to view the rock, or see it from the beach below. But he gave it five stars, because it will be wheelchair-accessible once construction is complete.
The group behind TheTravelingWheelchair.com is hopeful that the reviews will make people more aware, and improve accessibility for everyone.
"Hopefully they can make the changes and we can go back and do another review," said Correia, "and maybe give them 5 stars."
Emily Sweeney can be reached at esweeney@globe.com.
