A disability rant about changes in parking, etc, in my area

[Digit]

The town I live in has tunnel vision when it comes to new buildings and handicap access.
Nowadays, they place the parking farther away, but provide a ramp, thinking automatically that all handicapped/disabled people are wheelchair bound.

They also have cut the amount of spots by half. My mother had a prosthetic leg and COPD, and could walk on occasion to say, the grocery store. Placing the parking farther away was a hardship for her, as well as people in casts, legs braces, etc.
Myself, I need a total knee replacement in at least ONE knee and the pain walking is sometimes too much to bear.
To make matters worse, at the local Harris Teeter grocery store, the put "Expectant Mother" spots in the very front, and the handicapped spots (which are few) at much farther distances. I complained to customer service and they told me I was not the only one with a complaint. They told me to park in the expectant mother parking spaces, but I don't care for the looks I get at my age.

Lately, I have seen these bumpy thingies built into the concrete for wheelchairs which I have to try to walk over with when I cringe in pain over uneven surfaces. They seem to be cropping up everywhere.
Damn it, as slope is bad enough without putting bumpies all over it.

I know I am not the only one with these issues, but I have a big mouth and complain when I see such shortsightedness.

[kickysnana]

1. Agree 100% with you.

It used to be that buses stopped at every corner. That businesses were right on the other side of the sidewalk and parking was right in front. Now there are huge areas of plaza in front of businesses. Huge lobbies and decorative halls. Parking is at least a block and a half away. Mega malls are out of the question.

But my Aunt in her power chair just does not schedule anything from the end of Dec until April because trying to find access through snow banks is sometimes impossible and you don't know that until you get there.

[lligrd]

2. Why Can't They Get This Right

Most people support handicapped parking yet there doesn't seem to any rhyme or reason to the way it is implemented. I've been at places where there are a slew of empty handicapped spots and no other spots available. I also remember having fractured pelvic bones and not receiving a handicapped sticker and having to walk a half a mile from the parking lot to the doctor's office.

[Digit]

3. They probably would of/should of given you a temporary tag

You definitely deserved one. That long walk must have been excruciating!

They did not give me one at first also, and this was right after the knee surgery.

I mentioned it to the nurse on one of my followup visits and nurse Kratchett said I needed the exercise.
My doc heard her and said he was surprised he had not given me a prescription for a placard and gave me one right then and there.

Even with the placard, I could not do much beyond a quick visit to the grocery store. My knee would lock up and my visit would be over.

[lligrd]

5. Yep, They Really Need To Find A Better Way To Grant Them

and take them back when not needed any longer. My mother had one for years after my father died (it was his), although she didn't use it.

And there are times when a simple sprain could make one miserable but many don't or can't afford to even go to the doctors. Maybe we need some honor system handicapped spaces and some placard ones along with encouraging the public and businesses to honor the system.

[MaryCeleste]

4. Get a copy of the UFAS and verify if the parking is compliant

Its a formula.

[happyslug]

14. On line copy of the UFAS

http://www.access-board.gov/ufas/ufas-html/ufas.htm

Now the UFAS uses the term "Guideline" NOT "Required". This reflects the American with Disability Act (ADA) which prohibits discrimination against the Handicap, but did NOT set any specs, what violates the ADA is up to a Jury as an issue of FACT not a Judge as an issue of law.

The reason of this was Congress did listen to the Handicap groups at the times of passage the the groups prefer rules that reflect what the Handicap saw as restrictions NOT some regulations. The classic case was A school in the South (I have forgotten its name) that went to an architect to make a building handicap accessible. What came out of the design was a wheelchair ramp made of marble. When it is wet it became to slick for people with wheelchairs to use. On the other hand Sear in the Sears tower went to the local Handicap groups and asked them how to make their building more accessible. The groups made some recommendations (One was to have the Receptionist have wooden dials so people in Wheelchairs could push the buttons in the elevators).

The ADA act is broad enough that a local store or government that relies on a set of Regs or even the UFAS may still be in violation of the ADA. If you are having a problem with accessibility file a complaint with your State's EEOC and see what happens.

The ADA only restriction is any proposed accessibility be "Reasonable" and if you push it, that is a Jury's decision NOT a decision up to a Judge or bureaucrat.

[Bluestar]

6. I absolutely agree!

I have a handicap sticker, yet I am not in a wheelchair. The long walks are excruciating. And I find the "expectant mother" spots irritating. I have even seen "mothers with small children" spots around here. If they are truly unable to walk the distance of a regular spot, their doctor should give them a prescription for a temporary sticker.

My town is pretty good (a few spots where the HC spaces are too few) but not too bad. If I were you, Digit, I would call the city where you live. City Hall has jurisdiction as to whether shopping centers are complying with the law or not (or even inconveniencing you) and they should listen to your complaints. I haven't seen the "bumps" anywhere here, but that would be a big problem for me as well. Good luck.

[Fridays Child]

7. Similar problem here.

A movie theater at a nearby mall used to have an outside entrance, with plenty of disabled spots right by the door. Then they decided to add more screens, which they accomplished by closing up the outside entrance. Now the only access is from inside the mall. They still have disabled parking spots by the entrance to the mall and there are no stairs or other obstacles but the distance from the parking lot to the theater entrance inside the mall is about an eighth of a mile. For people who are disabled but ambulatory, this is not barrier-free.

It probably complies with the law but it's clear that AMC Loews' only consideration was the additional revenue generated by putting in more screens.

[mrcheerful]

8. You should live in Grand Rapids Michigan, Theres two handi capped parking spaces in the city

one in front of the court house and the other in front of the police station, that have meters. Guess what that means when you get stuck parking in a regular parking space with a meter, then have the meter run out 10 seconds before you can get to said meter because the walk was longer then you could make without stopping to get breathe back. Thats right you get a $20 parking ticket. Because there are "handi capped parking meters" in said city your cut no slack, the law doesn't state how many handi capped parking spots with meters the city has to have, it only says it has to have them in the city so they can legally ticket handi cappers with everyone else. They call it equal rights, at least thats what the pukes who run the city say.

[pengillian101]

9. That is truly disgusting - n/t

[Summer93]

10. Say no to big box stores

I find it very difficult to handle big box stores (grocery etc.) First, the handicapped parking is across a street from the doorway of the store then all of the walking one must do to get the items. Eggs are at the farthest spot from the door. I can't walk that far. I have used the electric carts they provide but sometimes they are not charged and I need to be able to count on them being available. I have complained that there are no chairs - like at the end of the row and they answer that the chairs are at the front by the registers which does not help me when I am down by the eggs.

Here goes the rant - Go for a prescription(grocery store) and the place to sit and wait for it is around the corner or the bench is facing away from the counter. Once I had to make four different trips to the store to get the two prescriptions and the following two refills - four trips was not easy for me.

Hospital - nice long empty halls are not good if half way down the hall I realize I walk this far - not a chair in sight - I think I might have been able to do it if I could have taken a seat for a little while. Next time asked for wheelchair assistance and wanted to know if I needed someone to push it - I was alone - DUH! There are also labs where the doorway was not wide enough to pass the wheelchair through. I guess this hospital only deals with able bodied people who go there for breathing tests.

The way that I have dealt with the grocery store is one find a small store and/or order my groceries online and have them delivered to my home - works very well for me right now.

[mrcheerful]

11. I hear ya, same here. I drive the SO to doctors appointments and sit out in the

parking lot because the walk is way to much, It takes 15 minutes to walk 100 yards. I once made the mistake of going into a hospital with her for a cat scan. Not only did we have to walk the length of said hospital, we also had to go up to the 4th floor and walk the length of the hospital again. It was 20 degrees out, I had a spring jacket on, and by the time we got out to where the car was parked I was drenched in sweat, out of breathe and weak as a kitten, in fact SO had to unlock and open the car doors for me. Yeah the hospital staff offered me a wheel chair, but 2 problems with them, my right arm can't be used for long and its weaker then the left so usually when I try to use one, I end up going in circles, SO uses a walker so she can't push me, then theres that pride thing to contend with, I might be slow, fall often, but damnit I can get around on my own two feet. lol.

[pengillian101]

13. Walker w/Seat Update - Price lowered to $135

http://www.hugoanywhere.com/comersus/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=1

Ya, I hear ya also about doctor visits. Quite the nightmare getting around in those big clinics. The clinic I last went to had wheelchairs, but no rungs to propel yourself. Someone had to push. Ugh. Totally dependent.

These rolling walkers are very handy.

:hi:

[pengillian101]

12. Walker with seat (collapsible)

This might work out well for you. This is the least expensive ($155 and free shipping) that I know about. My SO and I both use them. They are more durable than another brand I had earlier. That other brand cost twice as much, and a leg just darn broke in half! But that one had a lifetime warranty so they replaced it. Hugo's warranty is only a year I think, but they are very high quality and always improving.

http://www.hugoanywhere.com/products_hugowalker_features.asp



See that handy seat - it also doubles as a carrying case. Inside there is a strap to pull and voila - it folds flat for putting in your vehicle.

:hi:

[China_cat]

15. Thanks for posting that.

There's places I'd like to go that the scooter is too big and the chair makes me too dependent. Walking is ok but, as someone else said, I need to stop and sit and catch my breath more often than seats are available.

I just ordered this and can't wait for it to get here. Maybe this year I'll actually have a way to get to the beach.

[Steven_S]

16. My wife just bought me one for my birthday...

last week at Costco for about $95. It really helps to keep me stable while walking, and the seat thing comes in handy. Hope you enjoy yours. :)

[China_cat]

17. We checked our Costco first

they didn't have any. I didn't see them online (Costco online) either, but then, I probably just missed them.

[cutlassmama]

18. I have one of those. I used it before going into my wheelchair.

The bad thing is that it is heavy. It's too heavy for me to lift in and out of a car.

My ex-boss had had three heart attacks and this is why she needed a handicapped spot. I agree with the original poster, handicapped people are not always in a wheelchair and should be considered too.

It's not always easy for us in wheelchairs either. There "should" be white lines so we can get in and out of cars/vans with our wheelchairs...9 times out of 10 either there aren't white lines or someone has parked in them.

[cutlassmama]

19. I used to use one of those

it was a God-send. Best item I ever owned! I'm now in a wheelchair, but this was my "ride" for a long time. Everyone not in a wheelchair that has difficulty getting around should own one.

[ValhallaChaser]

20. You can always get a lawyer...

and sue them for violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. New buildings are forced to comply and if the building inspector isn't enforcing this rule, then they're on the "take".

My ex-wife remodeled an old house in Elk River, MN and turned it into an office. Because of the extensive remodeling, she was forced to have handicapped parking and handicapped access into the building. Even the bathroom was required to be handicapped capable. Being a disabled Vet, there are times I appreciate some of these "laws" or building codes.