walking . is . overrated

Thanks to Jenny for this review!

Sylvia Park shopping mall is situated in Mt Wellington, just off the Southern motorway, which makes it easy to get too.

Entrance: Sylvia Park has many entrances which are all level access and some entrances have sliding doors.

Mall: The whole mall is great to get around in, level surface and all shops have a level entry. The mall has an outside area of shops, mostly undercover too. One thing which I liked in the outside part was there were heaters along the wall which would be nice in the winter. There are small round blue lights placed on both sides of the walkway in the outside area of shops which are good There is also a cinema complex upstairs but I didn’t get to check that out. There is an information desk in the middle of the mall and the staff are always helpful to me when I need help or ask them anything.

Mobility Parking: There are plenty of mobility parking spots and even when it’s a public holiday I found we were still able to find a mobility park.

Disabled Bathrooms: There are disabled toilets everywhere along the mall. The biggest disabled toilet is near the food court. It’s separate to the Men’s and Women’s toilets and has a push button to open the door. I tend to use this one as it has plenty of room to maneuver my powerchair, the rail is on the left side. The basin in low so I can get under it and wash my hands. The soap dispenser is just over a bit from the basin and is low enough to get soap out. The taps are neat as they automatically turn on when I move my hands under it. The paper towels are low enough to reach too. This bathroom is very accessible and is also good if you need someone with you to help you. If you need a disabled toilet with a rail on the ‘right side’ then use one of the other disabled toilets around the mall.

Train: The train station is about a 2 minute walk from the mall and has two lifts. Sylvia Park is about 20 minutes by train from Britomart and just over half an hour from Papakura.

Summary:

• Lots of mobility parking.
• I’m very impressed with all the disabled bathrooms and how accessible they are, I give 100%. I’ve never been in a mall with so many disabled bathrooms in it.
• A great variety of shops which all have level entry.
• Inside and outside area is very spacious.
• Great to see the train station there too.