Help This Family Make NYC Handicap Accessible

What's This?

By Jess Fee2013-08-18 01:00:24 UTC

If you had to navigate a major city without walking up any stairs or stepping on a single crack, could you do it?

For people like Andrew Feinberg who rely on wheelchairs to get around, this is not a question of ability, but rather one of necessity and planning ahead. Unfortunately, in a place like New York City, even the best plans can be derailed by a single step.

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A new Kickstarter project called Wheel NY wants to take away the time-consuming task of researching and pulling accessibility information from various sources.

The Wheel NY maps section would help users plan a day based on information housed directly on the site, including which subway elevators are broken and which sidewalks are cracked or unusable for those in wheelchairs. The mobile app would make it possible to have that information on hand at all times, and see real-time updates on the go. Places like museums and restaurants, that at one time were a source of anxiety for the physically disabled, could become a destination to look forward to.

"But Wheel NY isn't just about enjoying a good meal or catching a good show. It's about the feeling of freedom and independence that it brings to its users," Andrew's sister, Jennifer says.

The project has already received an influx of positive feedback. Jennifer remembers one person on the West Coast who reached out to her and said, "I've always wanted to live in New York City. Maybe now one day I can because of this."

The Kickstarter project asks for $50,000 to help fund the app and website development, but it's currently $40,000 short with less than two weeks to go. The bulk of the funding will go to paying a team of 4-5 people, who will bring the project from the idea stage into design, development, approval and launch.

"We are building a website and two applications, one for Apple and the other for the Android platform," said the project's current developer, Brent Chapman. Because there is no pre-existing wireframe that they can tap into, the website and two mobile apps will be built from scratch and will require a significant amount of data input.

Even though the app is marketed towards the elderly and disabled, parents with strollers or people with pushcarts could also benefit from such a resource.

Perhaps the most valuable part about Wheel NY is the scalability. If it proves successful in New York City, the model, app and website could be used to benefit other major cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, or even international locations, like London or Dubai.

Image: Screenshot, WheelNewYork.com

Topics: apps, apps-and-software, Apps and Software, Health & Fitness, kickstarter, Mobile, Social Good, Startups, Tech