Sunday, June 1 - Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Accessibility at the STC Summit 2008
Visiting the Pennsylvania Convention Center and Philadelphia
The Pennsylvania Convention Center is the site of all the conference activities for STC's 55th conference. The Center displays the universal symbol for accessibility throughout the Center to signal its accessible services. All meeting rooms and exhibits halls are accessible. All public services are accessible, including, bathrooms, telephones, elevators, and concession stands.
If you enter the Center at the main entrance (12th and Arch Streets), curb cuts are on each side of the street for easy access. Symbols on the doors indicate the entrances with automatic door openers.
One level up, you can enter the Center using the Skybridge from the Mariott or from the Market East Station. The Marriott Skybridge connects to the Grand Hall, which is the former Reading Terminal Train Shed. The Market East Station also connects here, so you can make an easy connection without going outside. You can download maps of the convention center from the convention center Web site to familiarize yourself with the layout before you arrive.
Lighting in the convention center comes from metal hallide or incandescent lighting with dimmers.
Service signage includes Braille.
Two of the closest garages have accessible parking.
The garage at 9th & Filbert
- Self-park garage with elevator and security patrol
- Entrance from 9th between Arch & Filbert
- 15 accessible car spaces and 2 accessible van spaces (van accessible parking on 1st level only)
- Open from 6 in the morning until midnight.
The garage at 10th & Ludlow
- Self-park garage
- Entrance from 10th between Market & Chestnut
- 9 accessible car spaces and 1 accessible van space (which is on the 1st level)
- Open from 6:30 AM to 11:30 PM.
Getting Around Philadelphia
The hotel and convention center are located in the center of the city, where curb cuts accommodate people using a wheelchair or a cane. The sidewalks in the area of the hotel and convention center are generally smooth riding for a wheelchair, but the volume of people in the area can slow your journey.
Remember to be sensible and watch your belongings carefully like you would in any major city.
We are in downtown Philadelphia so you can expect lots of traffic and lots of noise when you are outside. Rush hour is approximately from 7 AM to 9:30 AM and again from 4 PM to 7 PM.
The city itself has a site about accessible Philadelphia from the Philadelphia Accessibility Compliance Office. This site includes information about accessible health centers. You may enjoy reading comments about accessibility in the city in this excerpt from Frommer's or this article from the National Federation for the Blind, which includes a good description of the Market East station from the perspective of a blind person. The NFB article is from 2001, so you must disregard the prices it mentions.
Remember that STC has a scooter rental offer from Scootaround for attendees who want the convenience of wheels for getting around the convention. For more information, see the page about scooting around Philadelphia.