Tomas
Banned
There were some comments made about the escalators and handicapped access and the ADA, etc. in another (humorous) thread. Some of that pushed some of my buttons and I wrote a quick response.
I thought better of that - hijacking a humorous thread for another purpose - and decided to give my comments their own thread. I deleted them in the other thread and copied them to this one.
Here's the pic that started it (and yes, it IS ridiculous to have escalators like this).
According to the sign to the right of the escalators, handicapped access is at another entrance ...
(My wheelchair won't fit on an escalator well at all ...
)
My memebership in a local health clup is a part of the 'perks' provided to all senior members of the HMO that handles my healthcare (that's "senior" as in "old" not "senior" as in "higher rank").
They have some qualified PT's there that will even work with handicapped members to ensure that what is done is safe and healthy.
The gym/healthclub is fully accessible, because "handicapped" covers many things. When my mum was recovering from a broken ankle she was handicapped - but still needed proper exercise. I'm handicapped, and use a wheelchair, but can walk for short distances and use the gym to increase my ability to do that safely. I see many handicapped use the pool, the upper-body exercise machines, play wheelchair basketball, etc.
Some people ask (stupidly) "If the can use the gym, why do they need special parking places? They get all the best ones, close to the building!"
The answer is that some of those folks are there to exercise what functions they have remaining, and are limited in their ability to cover long distances. Others can cover the distances, but in wheelchairs, and need parking spots that ensure the ability to get in and out of their vehicles, even those with ramps that magically grow out of the side.
In my apartment building we have 6 apartments with tenants in wheelchairs. We have other people in wheelchairs who visit relatives and friends who happen to live here.
Some TAB (Temporarily Able Bodied) folks living here complain about the "reserved" parking spots for the handicapped - there are some at each of the three main entrances. They complain that the best spots are taken by the handicapped. They especially complain when it is cold or raining.
None of them, however, are willing to trade places and be forced to use a wheelchair to get a better parking spot.
Handicapped parking is noticable, one of the usual complaints is it takes up the best parking spots. Personally I didn't used to use the handicapped spots, even though I could, if other suitable spots were available (like an end slot so no-one could park next to me and prevent me from returning to my car).
Thing is, I found out another reason - actually mentioned in the ADA guidelines - why the slots are close to the doors: To keep those in wheelchairs or with limited mobility from having to pass behind all those parked cars in the lot.
After several times of nearly getting backed over by some mom in a stationwagon with 2.3kids and a dog, or some joker in a jacked-up 4X4 (and actually getting hit once). I decided that I needed to park in a place where a guy in a wheelchair didn't have to fight with parking lot traffic. Not because I couldn't do the distance, but because I was invisible ...
Sorry about getting carried away here. Thing is, if things like this aren't mentioned when they pop up, in the regular forums where they do, many of the TAB people are never exposed to any of the rationale behind some of the ADA requirements. Many of those requirements are designed to cover as many different handicaps as possible, and may not (usually don't) cover a particular handicap perfectly. They are writen that way so there won't be 2 million different rules depending on handicap.
Even the handicapped often only see the rules as they relate to their own particular needs, not in the wide-as-possible-use way they were written.
Take care,
I thought better of that - hijacking a humorous thread for another purpose - and decided to give my comments their own thread. I deleted them in the other thread and copied them to this one.
Here's the pic that started it (and yes, it IS ridiculous to have escalators like this).
According to the sign to the right of the escalators, handicapped access is at another entrance ...
(My wheelchair won't fit on an escalator well at all ...
My memebership in a local health clup is a part of the 'perks' provided to all senior members of the HMO that handles my healthcare (that's "senior" as in "old" not "senior" as in "higher rank").
They have some qualified PT's there that will even work with handicapped members to ensure that what is done is safe and healthy.
The gym/healthclub is fully accessible, because "handicapped" covers many things. When my mum was recovering from a broken ankle she was handicapped - but still needed proper exercise. I'm handicapped, and use a wheelchair, but can walk for short distances and use the gym to increase my ability to do that safely. I see many handicapped use the pool, the upper-body exercise machines, play wheelchair basketball, etc.
Some people ask (stupidly) "If the can use the gym, why do they need special parking places? They get all the best ones, close to the building!"
The answer is that some of those folks are there to exercise what functions they have remaining, and are limited in their ability to cover long distances. Others can cover the distances, but in wheelchairs, and need parking spots that ensure the ability to get in and out of their vehicles, even those with ramps that magically grow out of the side.
In my apartment building we have 6 apartments with tenants in wheelchairs. We have other people in wheelchairs who visit relatives and friends who happen to live here.
Some TAB (Temporarily Able Bodied) folks living here complain about the "reserved" parking spots for the handicapped - there are some at each of the three main entrances. They complain that the best spots are taken by the handicapped. They especially complain when it is cold or raining.
None of them, however, are willing to trade places and be forced to use a wheelchair to get a better parking spot.
Handicapped parking is noticable, one of the usual complaints is it takes up the best parking spots. Personally I didn't used to use the handicapped spots, even though I could, if other suitable spots were available (like an end slot so no-one could park next to me and prevent me from returning to my car).
Thing is, I found out another reason - actually mentioned in the ADA guidelines - why the slots are close to the doors: To keep those in wheelchairs or with limited mobility from having to pass behind all those parked cars in the lot.
After several times of nearly getting backed over by some mom in a stationwagon with 2.3kids and a dog, or some joker in a jacked-up 4X4 (and actually getting hit once). I decided that I needed to park in a place where a guy in a wheelchair didn't have to fight with parking lot traffic. Not because I couldn't do the distance, but because I was invisible ...
Sorry about getting carried away here. Thing is, if things like this aren't mentioned when they pop up, in the regular forums where they do, many of the TAB people are never exposed to any of the rationale behind some of the ADA requirements. Many of those requirements are designed to cover as many different handicaps as possible, and may not (usually don't) cover a particular handicap perfectly. They are writen that way so there won't be 2 million different rules depending on handicap.
Even the handicapped often only see the rules as they relate to their own particular needs, not in the wide-as-possible-use way they were written.
Take care,
