We are thrilled to introduce Papa’s latest products: CitiStroller & CitiRoller! These multi-platform products are designed to make navigating cities on wheels EASY, PRACTICAL and FUN.

The idea for these tools came to us over two years ago when we first began pushing our newborn daughter in her stroller around our hometown. We live in the South End of Boston, a centrally located neighborhood in a city we’d always navigated with ease…but that was before we had become captains of our baby’s new 4-wheeled ride.  Suddenly, we were faced with challenges we had never experienced before. Taking the T (Boston’s subway system) was no longer a breeze. Finding restrooms, restaurants and nursing spots we could navigate (and were welcoming) was a chore.

As difficult as we felt navigating in a stroller was, it became immediately obvious how challenging navigating in a wheelchair must be.  Many of the obstacles are the same, but for individuals in wheeled mobility devices, the challenges are ongoing and not limited to the few years of stroller use we experience as parents.

These two tools will operate on the same mapping platform to make use of the accessibility information that both communities appreciate, with specialized content for each group based on needs.  For example, our CitiStroller tool will include restrooms with changing tables and our CitiRoller tool will include restrooms that are handicap accessible. Both will be national (and eventually international) in scope and will integrate user feedback for every location type. Registered users will be able to add locations and rate them on their level of accessibility and staff friendliness/helpfulness.

We’ll begin beta testing at the end of March, and have just begun recruiting parents and individuals in wheelchairs to help us test out the tools.  Email info@citiroller.com or info@citistroller.com to sign up as a beta tester.

With CitiStroller and CitiRoller we’re going to make cities more open to all of us on wheels! We hope you’ll come along for the ride!

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 at 3:40 PM and is filed under Easy, Fun, Practical, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.