“If you’re going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair…” Well, that was the protocol in the 1960s, and if you use a wheelchair count on using accessible transportation. Growing up in the East Bay Area about 30 minutes from San Francisco, I have experienced this city pre and post spinal-cord-injury and know the challenges of exploring it. Even when I was not in a wheelchair, getting around San Francisco on foot was an extreme workout. Nonetheless, there are ways of conquering this great west coast city with a little planning if traveling in a wheelchair.

Wheeling Streets

Whenever I go travel to a city, I rather use as little transportation as possible because I like to wander around a city and maybe even get lost. This way, I see more than what I have planned, but there are great wheelchair accessible transportation options. In San Francisco, it is best to have a general destination in mind and then explore the surroundings as much as you are able to. The landscape around many popular attractions is generally flat, like the Lands End Trail, attractions in Golden Gate Park, and Golden Gate Bridge Overlooks; it’s just getting from one attraction to the next where you are likely to run into hilly obstacles. In general, the perimeter of San Francisco which travels along the water is pretty level and flat. For example, wheeling along the Embarcadero, exploring Crissy Field in the Presidio, or Baker Beach in the northern part of San Francisco. 

Driving + Parking

For one, there are handicapped parking spots available if you are driving but finding one is often challenging. In California, if you can find a meter spot and display a handicapped placard then parking is free. However, pay attention to any restrictions such as restricted days because you will be ticketed if not towed. If no open parking meter is available then there are public parking garages but this method gets expensive quickly, so if you are on a budget then keep circling the area for an open meter. Because of these difficulties, it’s recommended that you don’t drive while in San Francisco.

Public Transportation

San Francisco, California has public transportation systems. There are the familiar bus and taxi services that provide wheelchair accommodations but better yet there is the Bay Area Rapid Transport (BART) and Municipal Transportation Agency (MUNI). MUNI includes buses, under and above-ground streetcars, and trolleys. Using these two transportation services can get you almost anywhere in the city, especially to the most desired areas. You may have to travel a few blocks but it is better that way because you’ll see more of the city. Furthermore, both of these transportation services are totally wheelchair accessible.

BART is fantastic to get you to general areas of San Francisco as well as other cities in the Bay Area. Every station has accessible elevators to get you to the loading platform which are flat and make for an easy transfer right onto BART. In other words, there are no ramps or anything like that to slow down the boarding process.  In all the BART cars there are designated spaces just for the handicapped for your comfort if you want to stay in your wheelchair. The problem with BART is that the ticket scanners are not accessible by design, so each time you stop at a station instead of running your ticket through the stand like everyone else you have to find an information booth and have an employee do it for you. Although this inconvenience is annoying, it does not take much time to deal with so bear with the process.

0 0 votes
Post Power