Transcript

My name is Blayne Amson and I’m the Americans with Disabilities Act Administrator here at the City of Bellevue in Washington state here to introduce you to a new cool piece of technology, and that is wheelchair charging stations. This charging station here at City Hall is located in a really convenient location– right across from Council Chambers. Meaning that you can charge your chair while watching Council, and stay civically engaged. Let me show you how it works. It’s as simple as taking this cord and plugging it in right here under your joystick. *beep* You’ll hear that beep and you know it’s charging. Another cool feature of these charging stations is that you can charge your phone. There are two USB ports on the side and it’s as simple as plugging your phone in just as you wouldn’t any other outlet. There are five other locations for charging stations spread throughout the city- meaning that no matter where you are, you can charge your chair and stay engaged with your community. So a person who uses the wheelchair would be able to charge their chair and then go out and do what they need to do. The hope here is the city is not just that folks will be able to charge their chairs here, but that other locations will be inspired to install wheelchair charging stations- because people with disabilities are an important part of our community and in order for them to be able to stay engaged, they have to stay powered. So we hope you’ll come here and try out our charging stations- and we hope to see you out and about.