Toronto, Canada: Accessible Hotels with Access If you’re in Toronto to see the main sights, you will probably want to stay at a downtown hotel, especially if you don’t have a vehicle. If you are planning on wheeling or TTC’g it, look for a hotel between roughly Front (in the south) and Bloor Streets (in the north), from the Yonge Street area (from the east) over to about University Avenue/Avenue Road (in the west). Reportedly a number of hotels have at least one or two accessible rooms, some with roll-in showers. All of the hotels listed below should have shopping and dining options in the vicinity – some accessible, some not. Please do your research to fully determine whether your selected hotel meets your special needs. More hotels options here. The Hilton on Richmond St West, is close to the Entertainment District. They say their “accessible rooms comply with all current ADA regulations. Partially accessible rooms have safety bars, raised vanities and toilets.

Transfer benches are available upon request. Fully accessible rooms feature furniture, doorways, and electrical outlets specially configured for accessibility, with bathrooms containing safety bars, raised vanities and toilets, roll-in showers or tubs with handheld sprays.” The Hilton is connected to the PATH but you will need to ask if the route is accessible. They have a great view of University Avenue from one of their glass elevators. affordable office chairs cape townThe Hilton is near accessible Osgoode Subway.high back armchair leather Cambridge Suites on Richmond St. East indicates it is connected to the PATH but I’m not sure whether the PATH route is accessible. best ergonomic chair company

The closest accessible subway is Queen. The Sheraton Centre on Queen St. West is attached to the PATH via an accessible route, and has a great location near many live entertainment venues, shopping at the Eaton Centre and The Bay, and City Hall’s Nathan Phillips Square which sometimes holds free events. The hotel is about half way between the accessible Queen and Osgoode subway stations – about two blocks either way.swivel chairs for lounge Further north, the Eaton Chelsea on Gerrard St. claims to have 19 fully accessible rooms with roll-in showers and 21 partially accessible rooms with bathtubs. cheap pink swivel chairIt is about 3½ blocks from the accessible Dundas subway station and 1½ blocks from shopping at College Park. buy pushchair in uk

The Chelsea is not connected to the PATH which ends just above Dundas. Still further north, the Holiday Inn on Carleton has shops and grocery stores in the neighbourhood, but the closest subway, College is inaccessible. It is also further from many of the entertainment venues than the other hotel options, and the PATH doesn’t come up to College Street. The Park Hyatt is further north (on Bloor St. West), not far from the St. George subway. table and chairs calgaryThe PATH does not reach the Bloor Street area.dining room chairs maine WATCH ABOVE: Jessica Silver has cerebral palsy, but despite the physical challenges she faces everyday she is pushing beyond what she can’t do and defying the odds with what she can. where to buy wheelchair in vancouver

When Toronto resident Jessica Silver was born she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. It’s a condition that affects a person’s ability to move. Jessica’s parents were also told their daughter may be blind and may never be able to speak, but since birth Jessica has defied the odds. She can see perfectly and just cannot stop talking. Cerebral palsy also affects a person’s muscle control, movement, coordination, reflex, posture and balance. Although Jessica’s motor skills are limited, in her eyes there are no limitations. Her life, in fact, is all about moving and the words “I can’t” are just not in her vocabulary. “With all the challenges and adversity that I faced, I feel that it motivates me to work harder and to do that much more. I’m a go-getter and I never stop at doing anything and everything that I aspire to,” Silver told Global News. It was that motivation that inspired her to develop an awareness campaign called Flex For Access that focused on helping those with physical challenges get moving.

Silver started the campaign two years ago to promote accessibility and fitness promotion in gyms across Toronto. It originally was meant to be just a social media awareness hub to not only educate people about cerebral palsy, but to get people talking about the disease and the challenges they face. Silver said she also saw the campaign as an opportunity to break the barriers many people with physical disabilities face, especially when they try to access a gym. Coming up @globalnewsto the latest in my Breaking Barriers Series- meet Jess Silver. A force in the gym. — Angie Seth (@kateygoalie) March 14, 2017 “It’s really designed to bring awareness to CP and more so people understand that everyone regardless of limitation or injury should and can engage in physical activity,” she said, adding it took a while for her alone to be able to find a gym that would be willing to allow her to exercise there. Silver finally found a gym and for the past six years she has been working with a trainer who has put together specific exercises to help her strengthen her motor skills and try to reduce the stiffness caused by cerebral palsy.

“It’s very rewarding to see how much she has progressed over the years and what she is able to do which are movements most able body individuals can do or some cannot do,” Daniel Cecchino, a kinesiologist and Silver’s trainer, said. But Silver’s fight goes well beyond they gym. According to the Ontario Federation for Cerebral Palsy, there are an estimated 60,000 Canadians who have cerebral palsy. Silver said she wants to help those people and break the stigma and stereotypes that come with the disease. She said physical activity is perhaps one way to do it and that the workouts have made the world of difference for her. “We need to be doing something to open the doors to allow people to access fitness and be engaged in physical activity regardless of their limitations,” Silver said. She said she continues to work hard to breakdown her own limitations. Silver works out around five days a week. Her ultimate goal is to be able to get out of her wheelchair and walk on her own.