{"id":51919,"date":"2018-03-23T11:22:55","date_gmt":"2018-03-23T15:22:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=51919"},"modified":"2018-03-23T13:29:53","modified_gmt":"2018-03-23T17:29:53","slug":"music-and-mobility-my-experience-going-to-a-concert-with-a-broken-foot-pt-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2018\/03\/23\/music-and-mobility-my-experience-going-to-a-concert-with-a-broken-foot-pt-2\/","title":{"rendered":"MUSIC AND MOBILITY | My Experience Going To A Concert With A Broken Foot (Pt. 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Ludwig Van sends a writer with a broken foot to test the level of accessibility at some of Toronto’s most well-known local concert halls.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I<\/span>n the first part<\/a> of this series, I described my attempts to plan winter expeditions to the Four Seasons Centre for The Performing Arts and to Koerner Hall with an open-toed cast on my foot.\u00a0 The main challenge was finding information in advance about how to transfer from my home to the interiors of these venues without exposure to frigid temperatures, ice, snow, slush or rain.\u00a0\u00a0 Here is what happened.<\/p>\n

The Trifonov Recital at Koerner Hall<\/h3>\n

It was 20 days after my injury, and my mobility was definitely improving enough to enable me to get from the Bloor Street entrance of Koerner Hall to my seat in the auditorium.\u00a0 The \u2018known unknown\u2019 was the weather, which would determine how slippery it would be between the curb and the entrance, as well as how cold my toes would get.\u00a0 I had discovered that even with the thickest sock, the pain intensified instantaneously in the cold, and an extreme temperature plunge would make things impossible.\u00a0 The question wasn\u2019t just what the weather would be like at 7 in the evening when I set out for the concert, but what I might find afterward.\u00a0 \u00a0One of the major pitfalls of outings with a cast is that conditions change, and this can prey on your mind throughout any event, preventing you from being fully engaged in it.\u00a0 The weather would also determine the availability of cabs.<\/p>\n

As it turned out, the day of the recital was quite chilly, with the temperature due to drop seriously during the evening.\u00a0 In addition, though the day was dry, there was a possibility of precipitation, though it was less than 50 percent.\u00a0 I watched the conditions throughout the day, with the sinking awareness that it would be unpleasantly cold getting there, and worse on the way back.\u00a0 I also ordered the taxi for 7 p.m. earlier in the day, double-checking with the dispatcher that it would come when I needed it.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t order one for the way back because it is not possible to estimate the length of a piano recital due to the eventuality of encores.\u00a0 And a Trifinov encore is not one to miss.<\/p>\n

At 5 p.m. the cab I ordered for 7 p.m. arrived, despite assurances, it would come at the appointed time.\u00a0 Once that had failed it seemed pointless to place another advance order, so I realized I would have to order a cab just before I wanted one, with no guarantee I would get one.\u00a0 Then it started to snow.\u00a0 As it turned out, this was a brief flurry, which stopped well before the recital, but I couldn\u2019t have known at that point whether it might snow again, as was forecasted.\u00a0 This meant that I might be trying to arrange for a cab to pull up right in front of the box office entrance at the same time as 1135 other people were also leaving, including a number of others who needed curbside pick up.<\/p>\n

I was aware that it was quite likely that everything would work out.\u00a0 But I was also aware of my heart pounding more palpably than usual, and I had a rising sense of trepidation.\u00a0 I realized that I simply didn\u2019t feel safe.\u00a0 There\u2019s a vast difference between being <\/em>safe and feeling <\/em>safe.\u00a0 One remarkable feature of our public musical gatherings is that so many people can come together in one location and feel as if nothing will go wrong while they pay attention to the performance. \u00a0This is usually how I feel.\u00a0 But having been the victim of an accident less than 3 weeks earlier and living with the restrictions it imposed, I was far less risk-tolerant than usual. \u00a0I decided I couldn\u2019t go.<\/p>\n

The Four Seasons Centre<\/h3>\n

Twenty-two days later my fracture was not completely healed, but I had graduated from my cast to short stints in hiking boots, which I wore to the final performance of Rigoletto, and the day after, The Abduction from The Seraglio.\u00a0 With an uneven gait and a still-swollen foot, I was not completely pain-free, but I certainly felt light-hearted being able to transport myself in near normal fashion. \u00a0I even went by the Royal Conservatory en route to inspect the distance from the curb to the door of the Philosopher\u2019s Walk entrance to the building:\u00a0 150 steps!!<\/p>\n

When I arrived at the Four Seasons Centre I went down to the parking garage to look for myself.\u00a0\u00a0 An extremely helpful and pleasant COC staff person named Adam was stationed in the elevator foyer outside the parking garage, presumably to facilitate folks wanting to get to the performance.\u00a0 Although I was now wearing street boots, I explained that I had just stopped wearing a cast and wanted to know, for future reference, whether there is a way for a car to enter the facility, drop off a passenger, and then drive back out.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goodness!!\u201d Adam exclaimed, \u201cI have never been asked that question.\u201d\u00a0 With a mild sense of victory at having stumped the in-house staff twice, I told him they didn\u2019t know at the box office either.\u00a0 \u201cLet me find out\u201d he insisted, talking softly into the microphone around his neck, to communicate with the front desk.\u00a0 Inspecting the entry from where I stood, which was an automated arm and ticket dispensing machine on one side and an automated arm with a payment device on the opposite side, and no spot to actually get out of a car I thought I knew the answer.\u00a0 Adam confirmed my hunch.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 There is a way to game the system, by taking an entry card so the arm rises, driving in, immediately driving to the exit and stating that you do not intend to pay.\u00a0 \u201cBut that is not recommended,\u201d Adam relayed from the management voice that was passing information to him.<\/p>\n

I looked around at the audience at both performances to see if there were others dealing with casts and mobility restrictions.\u00a0 There were many people with canes and walking sticks, one or two people in scooters or motorized wheelchairs, one individual with Nordic walking poles, another with his arm in a sling.\u00a0 There were two people on crutches, one who was sitting in a wheelchair but wasn\u2019t wearing a cast, and one who was wearing the same cast that I had.\u00a0 Later I saw the gentleman with the wheelchair standing on his crutches beside a car in the curb lane on University Avenue while another person helped him lower himself into the passenger side seat. \u00a0Cars and cabs often pull up at this spot, if they can get to the curb, but often it\u2019s necessary to step into the lane and hold up traffic.\u00a0 The patron managed but would have been far safer if there were a traffic-free zone.\u00a0 \u00a0And he was only able to do this because he had both a driver and another passenger to assist him.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h3>\n

Because we have laws concerning accessibility for people with disabilities I assumed that there would be adequate accommodations for me.\u00a0 I was both surprised and confused when this was not the case.\u00a0\u00a0 I had to do some research to discover that disabilities covered by the Accessibility for Ontarians With Disabilities Act are long-term or permanent disabilities.\u00a0 Because my immobility is transient, I\u2019m on my own to facilitate my needs.<\/p>\n

I do not object strenuously to this because it\u2019s pretty clear that the built environment isn\u2019t elastic enough to adjust to an infinite variety of possible impairments.\u00a0\u00a0 Some solutions might have to be improvised.<\/p>\n

But I also think it\u2019s peculiar that there is no mention of casts or fractures on these websites.\u00a0 Bone fractures are not uncommon and increase with age, so it would be commercially worthwhile for public venues to include them in their thinking.\u00a0 And their communication about accessibility should be in accessible language.\u00a0 Text-heavy websites with legalistic language about \u201caccessible customer service practices, policies and procedures\u201d and channels through which your request for information will be \u201cread and reviewed by an appropriate representative \u201d are exhausting. When you\u2019re injured all you want is clear, practical and comprehensive information about what to do and how to do it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to acknowledge the great lengths that Koerner Hall and the FSCPA go to in order to make it possible for people with a wide variety of restrictions to attend their events.\u00a0 What\u2019s a bit trickier is to recognize the people who are absent because they can\u2019t find a way to manage.\u00a0 I wonder if one reason I didn\u2019t see many people in casts at the FSCPA \u00a0was because they had just chosen my solution and stayed home until they recovered.<\/p>\n

If you haven’t read the first part of the series, see here.<\/a><\/p>\n

LUDWIG VAN TORONTO<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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