Recently named Accessibility Officer for the National Office for Seniors and the Physically Handicapped Keith Simmons is working to make life in Bermuda a little easier for those with disabilities.

To demonstrate the difficulties that the handicapped experience on a daily basis, he took Royal Gazette reporter Owain Johnston Barnes on a tour through Hamilton in a wheelchair.

I'm tired, I'm sore and I'm bleeding, and it's only been a few blocks.

The wheelchair worked just fine on the flat, smooth ground of Mr. Simmons' office, but as soon as I wheeled through the door, I ran into problems. Hamilton is neither flat, nor smooth. The slightest slope or pothole sent me careering into walls or parked cars, assuming that I wasn't thrown completely out of the chair.

In fact, I couldn't make it to the sidewalk from Mr. Simmons' office without getting caught on a metal grate.

Mr. Simmons, who himself is quadriplegic, showed me how he gets around the city in his electric wheelchair, and I struggled to keep up.

Hamilton's numerous construction sites made matters worse. The wooden tunnels built to guide pedestrians block the dips in the curb that allow wheelchairs and strollers the ability to get off the street and onto the sidewalk. Instead, they are replaced with small wooden ramps, which I discovered can only be approached at a 90 degree angle, and preferably backwards.

Not that the dips are a great deal better. One was steep enough that I became stuck between the sidewalk and the street.

Hamilton had almost instantly transformed from a pedestrian friendly city to a concrete obstacle course. Every time I came close to a collision, my arms or legs would dart out to stop me from hitting anything, but if I were actually handicapped that wouldn't have been an option.

Several places that appeared to be accessible wound up being nearly impossible to get through without assistance. One entrance to the Gibbons Company had a short, steep ramp followed immediately with a hard left turn with barely enough room to fit, much less manoeuvre. It ended up taking three people to move me to the door.

With that said, Mr. Simmons made the same trip effortlessly in his electric wheelchair.

After an hour, I gave up, resorting to walking the empty wheelchair back to Mr. Simmons' office.

While the city proved to be far less accessible than I had thought, I was continuously surprised by the kindness of the people on the streets. Within an hour I was helped by more than a half dozen people, including one woman who stopped her car in order to help me out of the road.

Over time, I would likely get better at getting around in a wheelchair, but one thought stuck in my mind throughout my trip.

This should be easier.

• Are you disabled? Send us your stories and opinions at ojohnstonbarnes@royalgazette.bm