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New Whistler website for the disabled launched

Interest in resort to increase as Paralympics near

With the Whistler Adaptive Sports Program growing in leaps and bounds, and a growing interest in the village as a host city for the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, the resort is officially on the radar for disabled athletes and tourists.

Helping those athletes and tourists make the most of their visit is the focus of a new website, www.whistlerforthedisabled.com. The website provides would be visitors and people in Whistler with information on village and mountain access, as well as transportation options to and from the resort. Also, it provides a detailed overview of accessibility at hotels, restaurants, bars, clubs, stores and other attractions, including specific information for specific disabilities.

Visitors to the site can also shop for groceries and fill prescriptions online, and obtain medical care, dental care and physiotherapy.

Other features include information on where to find the disabled parking spot nearest to attractions, and movie and entertainment listings.

The site was designed by Huey Tollet, who is hearing impaired. According to the press release announcing the website,

“It’s a very unique website for the disabled and a first for a resort community in North America to have a website totally focused on their needs and services. Whistler for the Disabled focuses in on all types of disabilities and the access information needed by each group,” he wrote.

“We will be targeting all the major Disabled Groups to show that Whistler is a friendly place for them to come visit no matter their disability. With the Paralympics just a few years away the website is a much-needed information portal for people with disabilities coming to visit Whistler to access information.”

For example, the Accommodation section lists hotels that are disabled friendly, with details on features — such as whether roll-in showers are available, the number of hand rails in bathtubs, close captioning for televisions, brail phones, acceptance of seeing eye and helper dogs, alert systems, and whether pool and hot tub areas are wheelchair accessible.