Check out the Distillery Christmas Market!
With mild weather and the holidays fast approaching, everyone in Toronto seems to be flocking to the Distillery Christmas Market. We visited recently to give our readers an update on what they can expect in terms of accessibility. Overall, accessibility is not bad, but there are also some concerns that may impact certain people.
In terms of getting there, the main entrance is located at Trinity St. And Mill St. There is a large paid parking lot on Trinity, and although there are no official accessible spots the parking attendants tell me that they keep double spots reserved for those who may need them. There are adequate curb cuts and well-maintained sidewalks leading from the parking lot to the main entrance.
One thing to keep in mind is that the accessibility changes drastically depending on when you go. I visited around noon on a week day and there was plenty of space in the Market. However, I have also been on aSaturday night and the streets of the market can be very crowded at this time. If crowds and limited space are a concern for you, the weekend is likely not the best time to visit.
Another thing to note is that the roads of the Market are a cobble-stone brick, which is not a very smooth surface. It is level throughout but it is certainly quite bumpy. Some areas have smoothly paved sidewalk and there were curb cuts along the sidewalk to get on and off.
In terms of washrooms, there are three within the Market area and two of them would be considered accessible. The two that I would say are decent in terms of accessibility are in buildings off of Tank House Lane and Case Goods Lane. The third washroom is a raised trailer and is not accessible. Each of the two washrooms contained an accessible stall per gender but no automatic features (including no automatic doors to the buildings themselves).
There are three restaurants within the Distillery Market which have been reviewed on AccessTO in the past, and you can check out those reviews below:
http://accessto.ca/2015/01/22/cluney/