What to know
- Accessibility advocate Taylor Lindsay Noel launched ‘Access by Tay’ to document real-life accessibility challenges in Toronto.
- She says anyone can become disabled at any time, and accessibility benefits everyone.
- Barriers like steps, doors, and inaccessible washrooms still make spontaneous plans difficult for many.
- Noel’s advocacy has led to real changes in businesses and she’s pushing for broader, more inclusive policies in Ontario.
Why are disabled people still forced to investigate whether places are accessible in 2026? It’s a question accessibility advocate Taylor Lindsay Noel keeps asking, and she says she’ll keep pushing for change until her job is no longer needed.
Known online as Access by Tay, the Toronto content creator and entrepreneur reviews restaurants, neighbourhoods, transit and other spaces through an accessibility lens, documenting barriers many people may never have to consider.
Noel wasn’t born a wheelchair-user. She was once a gymnast chasing Olympian dreams, but an accident left her paralyzed.
Now, she emphasizes that people can become disabled at any time, and that accessibility benefits everyone.
“If we’re all blessed enough to get old, you will have a disability at some point… So when we advocate for accessibility, it’s not just advocating for people who are disabled now. It’s advocating for future you,” Noel told Now Toronto.
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‘I realized that my city wasn’t necessarily built for people like me’: Noel shares why she started ‘Access by Tay’
As a wheelchair user who experienced several moments of inaccessibility, Noel started “Access by Tay.”
“I realized that my city wasn’t necessarily built for people like me, and so I wanted to start documenting the real-life experience of those living with disabilities and raise awareness so we can make real change,” she said.
Things she has to look out for when visiting establishments that able-bodied people don’t include:
- Is the front accessible (are there any steps as barriers?)
- Is there any way to use a button to open the door so you can enter an establishment?
- In a restaurant, do tables and chairs need to be moved to allow easy access throughout the space?
- Are the washrooms accessible or in a basement?
- Is the washroom stall big enough?
- Does the washroom have a hand grab bar?
- Can you see yourself in the washroom, or is it too high?
Ever since she’s had a disability, Noel can no longer make spontaneous plans, she shared.
“There’s no room for spontaneity because of the inaccuracy of information that’s out there and the varying amounts of understanding of what disability inclusion really is,” Noel said.
But Noel’s public reviews have been proof that raising awareness can lead to change and are the reason she continues to post.
“Recently, I went to a restaurant called Bar Romy. I talked to them about their washroom accessibility, and within two days, somebody in there completely changed their accessibility,” Noel shared. “It’s really affirming that what I’m saying is resonating with these businesses.”
Through her platform and work as a board member for the Shine Foundation, Noel participated in a summit with over 150 kids with physical disabilities from across Canada.
There, she taught the difference between advocacy and influencing for people interested in such a career.
“It was just an opportunity for all of these incredible kids who want to see what the next step in their future can look like, and be inspired, and come together, have camaraderie, and just leave there with a bunch of skills that they can take towards their future,” she said. “I was really, really blessed to be the co-host of it, to moderate a panel and just be a part of something that feels really, really special.”
‘The AODA falls a little short’: What Noel wants Ontario to change
Ontario’s primary accessibility law, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), is intended to identify, remove and prevent barriers for people with disabilities across areas including customer service, employment, transportation, information and public spaces.
But Noel argues that meeting accessibility standards on paper doesn’t always reflect the realities disabled people encounter navigating those spaces.
Noel says consulting a wider range of disabilities would be better, including wheelchair users, people with sight impairments, or those sensitive to different sounds or lighting conditions.
“Having a varied disability experience when it comes to people who are hired in these positions of power would be really beneficial to increasing the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA),” she said.
