Thread by @KayleighFONeill

🧵 I had my first day in #Edinburgh City Chambers today as a councillor. Let’s talk about access ♿️👇🏻

(There are the barriers of getting into politics, getting into campaigning, getting elected.. but that is for another day! (Should I make a video or blog? let me know! 🎥) )

I had to get two buses and roll 15 mins to the City Chambers today over SO many cobblestones which is quite a difficulty as a wheelchair user with pain issues ✊🏼

Now here is where the fun starts. The rooms that Greens would usually be in, is on floor number 4. Guess which floor was inaccessible by main lift today? Correct. 4️⃣

I have had to go through so many tight corridors, catacombs(!) and cluttered offices to get my basic induction tasks covered. I’m exhausted and annoyed 📑

All the lifts are very small and none (so far - I imagine there are more awkward hidden lifts yet to be discovered) have audio announcements 🔈

Speaking of announcements, let’s talk fire safety! As a wheelchair user, I should have had conversations and forms put in place before my induction day that explain what will happen in an emergency 🔥

Instead, I was told that no one knew who would help me in an emergency, that no one knew the best escape routes, and no one knew where Evac-chairs or fire safe corridors were 🙃

“No one knows much, we haven’t been in the building for 2 years!” Yes, well, you had decades before that to make it safe and accessible, why hasn’t this been done? 🤔

I’ve been told that in previous sessions wheelchair users have been placed on the highest floors and folks with hearing impairment have not had visible alarms to show the fire alarm 🚨

It is tiring being the only, or the first, or one of the first people to do something. I hope that the work I will do in council to make it more accessible will make it easier for the next people coming in ✅

For now, join me on this journey! I hope I can teach you (and #EdinburghCouncil) a lot because disabled people have #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs ✊🏼