With just one week to go to the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games, Baroness Grey-Thompson has praised some of the Park's accessible features, including its gentle gradients, which enable spectators can get around easily, the wider corridors, aisles and entrances to venues that make it easier for people with mobility scooters and wheelchairs to move around, and the tactile surfaces and contrasting colours that improve the experience of spectators with visual impairments.
Tanni, who won 11 Paralympic gold medals during her athletics career, said: 'London is setting new standards to ensure absolutely no-one misses out, whether competitors or spectators. These important features are central to enabling spectators to get around the Olympic Park and venues easily – making it an ideal space for older people and parents with prams, as well as those with mobility impairments.'
The apartments in the Paralympic Village are also accessibly designed, with facilities tested by Paralympians to ensure they meet extremely high standards. Dennis Hone, chief executive of the Olympic Delivery Authority, said: 'Inclusive design was built into the Olympic Park and its venues from the very beginning. We listened to what the experts said at every step to make sure the facilities and infrastructure we were building were just right – getting the views of people with disabilities, local communities and those with high levels of technical expertise.'
