Handicapped Services

Handicapped Services is here to cater to the special needs of the Renovation members. If you, your family or friends have any special needs, please contact us at access@renovationsf.org. We will try our best to answer your question or provide the service you need.

Meet the Team

The Renovation Handicapped Services team is led by Sally Woehrle who has extensive experience in this area. Sally will be assisted by Judith Herman (Deputy) and W. A. (Bill) Thomasson. The team looks forward to meeting all of you in Reno and to helping you have a comfortable and enjoyable Worldcon.

Our address for all questions and requests is access@renovationsf.org.

Scooters and Wheelchairs

We have both electric scooters and manual wheelchairs available to be rented for the duration of Renovation. We have both standard and heavy-duty models of both scooters and wheelchairs available, so if you need one, or just want more information, please let us know.

• The rental price for scooters is $140 for the run of the convention. This applies to both regular and heavy-duty scooters and is significantly cheaper than many recent Worldcons.

• Scooters must be pre-booked by emailing us at access@renovationsf.org so we can be sure to have enough equipment available. The deadline for requesting a scooter is July 31, 2011.

• Once your scooter reservation has been confirmed, you can make payment. Please do NOT make payment before receiving your confirmation. All payments must be made by August 5, 2011.

Special Needs Transportation

Renovation is offering scooter and wheelchair users additional assistance to move between the Peppermill Hotel, the Atlantis hotel and the convention center.

• The Reno RTC has a rapid transit bus that runs on Virginia St, which goes past all of our facilities. These buses run to and from downtown Reno every 10 minutes during the day from Monday to Friday, and every 30 minutes after 7pm. The frequency changes to every 12 minutes on weekends until 7 p.m. There are 2 scooter/wheelchair spaces on each bus.

• Daily unlimited ride bus passes will be available at no charge to those unable to use the Renovation shuttle. To get these passes just visit the Access Services table in the lobby of the convention center.

• There will also be a limited number of vouchers available for each scooter / wheelchair user for accessible taxis. These vouchers will be only for 1 way trips between the facilities. Vouchers will also be available at the Access Services table.

• After the Hugo Awards and Masquerade scooter/ wheelchair accessible vans will be running from the Peppermill Hotel back to the Atlantis Hotel.

For further information on these transportation arrangements, contact us at access@renovationsf.org.

What can you Expect?

During a March 2011 site visit, we took the chance to learn more about the site from the perspective of scooter users and the visually impaired. Our staff have written two articles about their experiences which we're sure you will find helpful.

• Kimmi Allbee used a scooter throughout the weekend and has written about scooter travel and access.

• Sharon Pierce has assessed the site from the perspective of the vision impaired.

Airport to Hotel Transfers

Arrangements for getting from the airport to the hotels with a scooter or wheelchair are as follows.

• The Peppermill airport shuttle is accessible (and has a lift which can handle a scooter).

• The Atlantis airport shuttle is not handicapped accessible. Members needing to transfer to the Atlantis should contact the Whittlesea taxi company on (775) 323-0503 to reserve a vehicle which can transfer themselves and their scooter or chair. Members using this service should obtain a receipt from the taxi driver on arrival at the Atlantis; the Front Desk will reimburse the cost in cash. (The Front Desk will also arrange for payment for your departure to the airport).

Publications

We hope to make the printed pocket program available in a large format type. If you are interested in this service, please contact us. We will only be producing these large format publications if we know that there is a demand for them.

ASL Interpreters

Handicapped Services is looking for some ASL interpreters. If you or someone you know would like to help us out, again, please contact us.