All Sydney Ferries vessels are accessible to people using essential mobility aids, but several older-style wharves have steps that prevent access.Circular Quay wharves, Abbotsford, Balmain, Balmain East, Cabarita, Chiswick, Cockatoo Island, Cremorne Point, Darling Harbour Terminal, Drummoyne, Garden Island, Kissing Point, Manly, Meadowbank, Milsons Point / Luna Park, Mosman Bay, Neutral Bay, Parramatta, Rose Bay, Rydalmere, Sydney Olympic Park, Taronga Zoo and Woolwich. Wheelchair accessible wharves are also indicated on the Sydney Ferries network map. Assistance may be required to board at some wharves at low tide. Gangway and ramp gradients are tide dependent. For information about low tides please visit the Bureau of Meteorology tidal website.Wheelchair accessible wharves have level or ramped access that allows independent access by a person using a manual wheelchair or walking aid. They are also accessible via motorised wheelchairs or scooters or if you are travelling with the help of a friend or carer.
Some wharves are not accessible when tides are low, as the slope of the gangway ramp becomes too steep for safe boarding and disembarking. At certain times some ferry services between Parramatta and Rydalmere are operated by buses because of natural low tides in the shallow waters of the upper Parramatta River. See Parramatta ferry bus replacement services. People with disabilities and their carers are given priority boarding by Sydney ferries. Make yourself known to a staff member on the wharf. If your wharf is unstaffed please wait for your service in a safe place away from the wharf edge and with your mobility aid secured and sideways, rather than facing the water. Crew on board the ferry can then assist you. There are floating wharves at Newcastle and Stockton wharves, making them accessible at all times.You need to be able to board the ferry independently, or with the assistance of a friend or carer. Sydney Ferries staff cannot operate mobility aids or lift or carry customers or their mobility aids.
Bicycles and 4-wheeled battery/electric scooters are permitted to travel where space permits. Some mobility devices may not be suitable for use on public transport.The Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport make some basic assumptions about mobility aids and gaining access to public transport. If your mobility aid does not meet these assumptions, you may not be able to travel on public transport. Petrol run scooters (similar to motorbikes), large ride-on-scooters with a laden weight over 300kg and all three-wheeled ride-on scooters are not permitted on the wharf or ferry in any circumstances. Mobility aids on ferries must comply with certain dimensions and manoeuvrability and stability specifications. Your mobility aid must turn 180 degrees within an area of 2070mm by 1540mm to ensure safe access on wharves, gangways and on board the vessel.Your mobility aid must have an effective brake system to withstand the acceleration, deceleration and pitching of the ferry.
Visit the Cockatoo Island website for more information about accessibility on Cockatoo Island.The requested URL /assoc_page.cgi?c=1-6734-0-0-0&sID=218633 was not found on this server.Would you build a house for an elderly relative next to yours on a new housing estate? The folks at Accessible Homes are hoping the answer to that question is a yes. Accessible Home‘s Rosette display house in Melbourne’s north is a three-bedroom single level house and what sets this property apart is that it is designed to meet the needs of disabled Australians. The wide hallway allows for wheelchairs to move around easily in the single-level home. The company has recently launched single-level homes with features such as solid wood floors, wide door frames, raised toilet seats, rails in the bathroom placed on reinforced walls, room to fit a wheelchair under sinks, a large garage, different bench heights in the kitchen, a lower height oven, a fold down iron board and light switches which operate on a gentle touch.
Video: More options for older Australians The garden is low maintenance with room and paths for a wheelchair. These subtle features can suit a range of mobility requirements and can be adjusted to suit individual needs, from those with a child with disabilities to older people with mobility issues who want to live independently at home. Despite these many unique features, the company’s two, three and four-bedroom houses don’t look all that different from a regular new home. “Not everything is obvious, which is good because people want to live in a nice normal house,” says Accessible Homes owner and designer Stewart Johnson. Johnson says he came to appreciate how hard it is for disabled Australians to live independently when he was briefly confined to a wheelchair following several car accidents. It buys time, I suppose to be independent, to live in a home. He says this combined with the need to look after his ageing parents made him re-think what kind of housing is best suited to older Australians and those with mobility issues.
“I can appreciate how scary it would be for them at that age. You’re probably struggling to get through a day. But when they’re (older Australians) trying to get their partners into the old-fashioned toilet or shower at home or up and down the stairs from the car, it just must be a nightmare. What it (an Accessible Home) does is, it buys time, I suppose to be independent, to live in a home.” There is a fold-down ironing board in the laundry. “We all know that next step is higher level care which quite often breaks up partnerships between husbands and wives and the like, which is sad. I’ve watched my parents do that, and it is really quite sad. It breaks their heart,” he says. How to: Survive multi-generation living The company’s designs for the three-bedroom home can be built for around $295,000 fully finished on a block of land that a buyer has or on a new estate. The company estimates a new build will take 18 months. Developing and creating homes designed to suit these needs from day one is a much-needed innovation, according to Yooralla’s Chief Practioner Rod Carracher.
“In terms of general home design, I think what Accessible Homes are doing is really unique,” he says. The rails in the bathroom can be suit a range of different needs. Adapting a home to meet the unique needs of a disabled or elderly family members can be a pricey process. “Retro-fitting costs can be quite expensive. It depends on the individual needs, but it can run into hundreds of thousands of dollars to change hallway widths and change bathroom designs.” “Changing a conventional bathroom and retro-fitting it to disabled specifications, can be $20-$25,000 for a single room,” Carracher says. at a new location in Braybook in Melbourne to offer everyday Australians more information on the kinds of household products and living options now available for those who have a disability. “Overall it’s important that building design starts to move this way. The cost of retro fitting older buildings is prohibitive,” Carracher says. Adult children of those with increasing mobility issues or those concerned they are moving too far way from mum and dad are most likely to be attracted to this kind of housing, Johnson says.
The carpeted master bedroom leads to the walk-in-robe and ensuite. This could include both those who want to knock down their current home and build something more practical while selling off part of the family block, and those who sell their homes and build an Accessible Home on a new estate near their adult children. “Quite often the next generation is helping too, their kids are ultimately the ones guiding them through that (process). They’re the clever ones planning ahead. When you get to a certain stage, you’ve left it too late because we can’t always predict when someone is going to get sick,” Johnson says. The kitchen includes room under the sink for a wheelchair. Placing Accessible Homes in regular neighbourhoods will help Australians remain independent and improve the mental health and quality of living for older people, he says. “It’s a great situation you can get into where grandparents can contribute to a bit of babysitting and get to know their grandchildren as they are ageing and the (adult) children can keep an eye on them,” says Johnson.
All of the rooms are wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair. Johnson says in the years to come more middle age Australians will find themselves caring for or arranging care for older parents and houses like his could give families more time together. “I’d like to see governments support it, in that it’s keeping people at home. If you can keep people at home then you are leaving them out of those very expensive facilities and hospitals that we know just aren’t working at the moment… if we can keep them at home it’s better for their health and financial situation,” he says. While this housing product is currently available in Melbourne’s north, Accessible Homes hasn’t ruled out building their disabled friendly homes in other parts of the country. “We are open to discussions. I don’t think there’s a solid no to anything. We’d discuss it and go from there,” says agent Jason Sassine of Jason Real Estate who represents the company to potential buyers.