Overview

Attending a meeting at Dewar's Ice rink in Perth was a challenge in a wheelchair.

Transport & Parking

Disabled parking is available outside in car park plus underground near lift. Watch out for large puddle underground. Blue badge parking is free however you do need a ticket (received at entrance barrier) and it needs validated if parking 8am-6pm. Ticket machines are in car park but not very accessible to people in wheelchairs. I was there after 6pm so don't know how you validate a ticket if a Blue Badge holder (in the past you just pressed button on barrier and told attendant).

Access

There is a lift from the underground car park into the building however the ACCESS to the lift is via a locked fire door. You press a buzzer (in a wheelchair I couldn't reach it safely) and wait for the door to click. No one speaks, no buzzer sound. It took my mum a while to work out door was open. Heavy fire door and there is a 2 inch concrete STEP to get in the door. I can walk so got out of wheelchair and pushed it over. However if in a transit chair, alone in manual chair or a folding powerchair this would be almost impossible to get over. Lift is in a fire exit stairwell. Lift to 2nd floor (meeting room) comes out in bar area. Bar area, foyer and meeting room all carpeted level access. Fire door into meeting room can be left open but again required assistance. You can also access level 1 reception up a long zig zag ramp from the outside car park. Then would need to request access to lift to get to level 2 meeting room and bar.

Toilets

I didn't get to the accessible toilet as it was on level 1 of building (reception) and meeting room on level 2. To get to accessible toilet you would have to get out of lift at level 1, go into reception area, then request access to lift again through fire door. I did try to go to level 1 on exiting but the lift went straight to ground floor car park!! No option to stop, I don't know why this happened. Level 2 has men's and ladies toilets. The ladies were large enough to take a wheelchair in but not into a cubicle.

Staff

I didn't see or speak to a single staff member (except the person who buzzed us in the door!)