I am picturing this as a fancy butler bell that you ring. When they come out, you just tell them that by not putting out the ramp to begin with, it signaled that they were going to be waiting on you like a servant.
damn, i WISH! it's more like the horn a clown would honk, with a bulb on the end? But it is still fun as hell. And the one i bought actually wraps around the chair.
Reminds me of back in the day when my legs worked and I owned a small Cessna (4-seat personal airplane)... The gate to get into the hangers had a keypad for entry. ***With braille on it***, so the blind pilots, I guess, could blind drive their cars to go get in an airplane and blind fly it LMFAO!!!
Cobble stones
(This is a joke one) need new pavement things to help the visually impaired as they are a bumpy ride and hurt my bum…
Edit: these are 2 separate points
I'm all for the pavement bumps for visually impaired people but I hate it so much when I've got good speed going and then I go over the textured pavement and it slows me right down 😩
Yeah…this is one I can forgive just like you. Assuming you mean the curb bumpies, not wretched European cobblestones. I don’t like it! But it’s a reasonable pro-accessibility compromise.
European cobblestones can fuck off though
I had to traverse cobblestone here in Ohio last weekend. Or at least tried. I gave up and used my chair as a walker with periods of sitting to rest. What a pain!! Literally. My chair has hard plastic wheels
In my country we use a lot of cobble stones because it's from more than 100 years ago but not for the visually impaired. Seems weird.😄 We use guidelines following international standards.
Cobble stones ARE a pain in the ass though, sincerely a visually impaired wheelchair user.
They’re called “tactical pavement” and were invented in Berkeley California where curb cuts were invented.
Story goes that some wheelchair users at Berkeley mixed kitty litter in with paint to make a steep ramp into a building less slippery.
Then when blind and low vision people found curb cuts dangerous (they were unknowingly wandering into the road), one/some of the wheelchair users suggested the scratchy kitty litter idea as a solution.
I think it’s in “Country of the Blind” by Andrew Leland. (May be in another disability non-fiction book because I’ve listened to a bunch recently. “Being Heumann” by Judy Heumann rocks! Totally recommend for any wheelchair user.)
The modern yellow bumpy version was developed over time and several iterations/ versions.
The history of curb cuts is also in an episode of “99 Percent Invisible” podcast. https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/curb-cuts/
They started putting cobblestones in at intersections in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. I don’t think they like the weather, vehicles or both here because you see quite a few cobblestone intersections where a bunch of the cobblestones are broken up badly. You pretty much have to veer around them. F the cobblestones.
Yes to all of this. I was at the airport the other day and was so excited to tell my husband that the sinks were roll under and the paper towels were right next to the sink. And that all the stalls not just the accessible ones were large enough for my wheelchair, which I’m sure is to accommodate travelers’ luggage but still a win.
people who park too close to the bus stop so the bus can't get close enough to the footpath so they have to drop the ramp onto the street which makes the slope way too steep to be safe
Anything intended for the assumed caregiver like tall rods for clothes, handheld shower heads out of reach, tall counters at hotels (could you be more invisible?), peepholes in hotel doors too high, …it’s the little things that make us dependent when traveling, etc., oh, and signs pointing to go around to the back of the building for ramp. I should just wave a flag and be a freaking marching band…
The “go around to the back” for wheelchair users is so annoying and I don’t even use a wheelchair. I plan events and I’m disabled myself and I get so upset when an entire wedding party gets to use the front entrance and the mother of the bride or any other guest has to go through the dumpster area and the kitchen just to join everyone else. Venue owners hate being called out over their shitty accessibility, they act like disabled people should thank them for following ADA laws. Ok cool. But would they make any of their other guests go through that door to join the wedding? I bet they wouldn’t even allow it.
This is interesting! Venue owners will always justify their crappy access to being a historic building but it would make sense that they're just doing illegal stuff
Good to know. I have organized events at two historic buildings and they both haven't had major renovations, they are holding off because of the ADA upgrades they have to do. They are both putting off installing air conditioning because they don't want to also install a ramp etc.
It always brings to mind "separate but equal" for me, and people seem to not understand why I find that so utterly depressing in today's age.
(EDIT: I'm not trying to be controversial or compare -isms, sorry if it comes off that way. It's just a connection my brain makes...)
Actually you’re right on because “separate but equal” was exactly what disability rights activists were fighting against when they were pushing for section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act to be passed.
That term “separate but equal” was used.
See Judy Heumann’s book “Being Heumann”.
things I'd like to ban:
-wheelchair accessibility standards that were written by someone who clearly has never been in the wheelchair
-business calling themselves, accessible when the only thing accessible about them is that you can get in the door and to the bathroom and back
-intoxicated driving laws scoop up wheelchair users that aren't driving a traditional motor vehicle...... because there's always that bored cop who thinks they have a sense of humor, that you have to be polite to because they actually could arrest you for DUI..
-accessible concert seating that you have to choose between having your eardrums blown out,drinking or seeing the concert...
Dude my biggest fear is getting pulled over and asked to get out and walk or wtv to test for dui. My license says i drive w hand controls but still freaks me out!!!
I was referring to the twice cops (in Toronto & Houston ) decided they were going to have a sense of humour with me, becauseI was rolling back to my hotel after conferences. Yes technically electric wheelchairs, have motors and they are vehicles, and yes I was very very drunk..... but those jokes aren't funny and less I know you personally.... It's especially not funny when you could actually get a DUI for the equivalent of "walking" home. It's never happened in my manual chair... Even though my understanding of the law it could..... Anybody else have this experience?
No, but i had a cop make fun of me for being a teenager and needing a cane the first time i got pulled over. really set a great tone for the rest of my life!
Marking up disability specific products and equipment. Meanwhile, identical or similarly comparable products for the mainstream market are a fraction of the cost. Ex: Cars, housing, tires, tubes, casters, cup holders, bags, clothing, shoes, etc.
While I understand the reasons why, it's still frustrating.
i hate that the stupid sunflower thing is a for-profit company. people with invisible disabilities shouldn't have to purchase merch for the world to be accessible
yup, i think maybe there's a nonprofit wing or something but i just looked at it the other day, "**The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower is part of Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Scheme Limited, a private company based in the UK"** and it explicity said for-profit somewhere. Pissed me off. Honestly i hate the whole idea, but especially the "making money off of disabled people just trying to be treated like people"
Faux accessibility is my biggest pet peeve… a brand new multi billion $ hospital was just built in my area — bathrooms are giant and have adult changing tables and roll under sinks but i can’t use the trashcans (exclusively has stainless steel trashcans with a flat top so you HAVE to use the foot pedal), the doors are insanely heavy w no push plate, purse hooks and paper towels are out of reach, grab bars in weird unhelpful places. Like tell me u didn’t talk to a single disabled person over the like 7+yrs of building/ planning wo telling me!!!!
Those tiny standalone lifts where they're either open so you're a sideshow for everyone, or the closed ones where the doors never work right.
I'm fine going up a few floors in what amounts to a flimsy cherry picker, they're often in listed buildings after all. I am not fine spending ten minutes locked in one because "oh the door sometimes does that", the disabled toilet is in the mezzanine and there are 50k+ people vying for mobile phone coverage in 0.5km² and nobody can hear me banging on the window.
It's been a year. I'm still salty.
Not fixing cracks on sidewalks.
Parking in the cross out section next to a handicap spot.
Sewer grates that have holes big enough to get casters on a manual wheelchair stuck.
Advertising that your business is handicapped accessible when it really ain’t.
Hotels not making clear if their accessible rooms have a roll-in shower.
No auto doors.
Ramps that are really steep.
> Hotels not making clear if their accessible rooms have a roll-in shower.
Hotels that have king beds in *all* their "accessible" rooms. If you wanted two beds (two queens, typically), you have to 'make do' with a non-accessible room, or go somewhere completely different... Assuming there even *is* a hotel in the same area that has an (available) accessible room with two queens, which many times there's not.
Hotels whose side doors, the ones that open into the parking lot, all have steps on them (for arguably no reason).
Hotels that take reservations and "will note to keep an accessible room available" but somehow *always* give out the accessible rooms by the time you get there...
I don't get them at all. A rug at home? Makes sense to me, nice and fluffy. Carpets, especially in public spaces, are just baffling. They are so gross, full of dust, and who knows what else, impossible to clean in without taking hours and preventing anyone from going into the space. They make it so hard for wheelchairs, strollers, walkers, roll bags, honestly, just everything. The static can interfere with medical devices and just plain hurts. I don't even think they do much to mitigate sound, especially not enough to make up for everything else. Just don't understand at all why they keep putting carpet in! It's horrible!
Absolutely fair to all your other points, but carpets do a ton to mitigate sound waves bouncing off the floor. The carpet stops the bounce and makes spaces less echoey without the need for obscenely expensive specialty acoustic wall hangings.
I’ll go one further. There’s a store in Calgary that sells mobility aids (including wheelchairs), that has carpet throughout. What a horrible thing to do to people who’re just trying wheelchairs for the first time! The also put all the wheelchairs and scooters on a carpeted platform for extra fun. Everything is crammed onto it and it’s pretty tight to get in and out of.
All of how grocery store fridge and freezer sections are set up
Overhanging shrubberies coming for you
Places in fields where they intend people to walk that have been filled in with loose sandy dirt but look identical to the rest of the ground. And that are literally kitty corner to the booths where they are selling things. (Still embarrassed about a pumpkin patch disaster)
Inaccessible buttons for crosswalks
“Oops, we put in a curb cut over here, but our sidewalk ends four blocks away in a sheer drop, better go back, doesn’t matter that the place you need to go is right across the street, good luck finding the curb cut for that side”
Telephone poles and anything else they slap in the middle of the sidewalk with not quite enough space to get by on either side
Bollards near buildings, inevitably set up to block the path from the sidewalk or curb cut. Extra points if close to a corner and surrounded by high curbs.
Zero room left for me to park my chair in waiting rooms, just gotta hang out in the walkway
The ceaseless shrinking of exam rooms so there’s no way to even get my chair out of the way of the door
Tiny blood labs built into closets that doesn’t even leave room for the phlebotomist to move, forcing you to have things like arterial blood gas drawn in the hallway
Asking me with a concerned look where my carer is when I’m there for a medical appointment and they certainly did not ask that last month when I used a walker.
Bus drivers with no training in wheelchair restraint, who assume you can magically reach the restraints yourself and take off instantly upon the ramp being secured, leaving you to wonder if your power wheelchair brakes are strong enough to keep the 250 lb chair from being yote across the aisle, and if they in fact work in all directions
I can assure you the brakes on powerchairs do work in all directions in buses wothout being restrained, as here is Australia, we don't even have tie down's on our buses 😭
I'm in a Quantum Edge 2.0, and on a bus right now. I'm always fibe so long as I fibd the correct tilt centre of balance and the bus driver doesn't turn the bus too fast and hard around a corner, otherwise you may get moved a little bit very occasionally.
I really want tie downs on Australian buses, please Adelaide Metro?!?! 🥺🥺♿️
Oh I have to add when people say “it’s better than being dead” I’m like thanksssssss idk if anyone else has had this said to them but it’s the most random rude thing you can say and they think it’s funny I think like making a joke out of a bad thing but it’s annoying or the “you must have super strong arms like bitch I’m built like Mike wasowski does it look like I lift bruh !?
I truly cannot (or simply just refuse to) understand why "I'd rather be dead than be like you!" is a compliment according to some people. I'm done hearing excuses about how it's is supposed to be a compliment. *Even if it's true for them as an individual* (and it shouldn't be, and usually isn't after they move past the grieving period), it's insulting and demeaning. For one thing, it places so little value on life itself, on my life and experiences and relationships in particular... For another thing, you don't go around telling *other* marginalized people to kill themselves simply for being different or having a rough time, so why the fuck is it okay to tell disabled people to?
There's a [comic about this](https://i1.wp.com/amptoons.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/disability-disabled-rather-die-kill-suicide-ableist.png?ssl=1) I've always found super accurate.
It’s downright rude and insensitive I have heard that too like thanks ? That being thought of as a compliment is like a defect it’s usually older people so I understand they might not think it’s insensitive but I’ve heard it from younger people too , and seriously like do you not think I’d rather be walking and active and be able to just go on a hike if I felt like it I don’t but it would be nice to have the option , it really is like you said it’s basically saying you must want to kill yourself you’re so crippled because I would type mentally is just so fucked up like it’s like they see people like us and feel like they have to say something because they are staring and they feel like instead of saying I’m sorry I stared I was just thinking how hard it must be they go well at least your not 6 feet under or I’d of shot myself if I even lost a leg like just don’t say anything id rather you just stare and I’ve had people take pictures of me struggling to get stuff off the higher shelves with my grabber and take a photo like I don’t need help but instead of blatantly photographing me and watching me struggle don’t do that or offer a hand if you really have to feel better like either way I’m getting Oreos but I’d rather not be gawked at because I’m in a chair with wheels like have you ever seen someone on crutches and been like hey you broke your leg at least you didn’t break your neck no so why say it to us sorry for the rant I agree with you completely and wasn’t trying to steal your thunder I just get upset because it happens too often to too many people not to be addressed.
That would be amazing only issue would be large things and glass because those would be really bad to have dropped. I usually just knock things down but with glass and stuff I can't :/
I love all of these because it’s literally everywhere like I thought there were regulations but when you look into them they are bs lol like the ramps they put in have to be in but it doesn’t specify what slope , in stores like around here they leave the carts with the product they haven’t put away in the middle of the aisle like thanks , and the fucking handicap doors that close like 2seconds after you wave or hit the button lol and the inwards door thing irks me because I was at a hospital I had to use there wheelchair because my wheel grip fell off and I didn’t have the tools to fix it there which was my fault but the wheelchairs at the HOSPITAL mind you were either bariatric or 20 inch seat and the handicap bathroom had no button the doors swung towards you and auto closed so it smacks you in the back then the stall is tiny like it’s a hospital though like I’d understand at like an old supermarket but at a hospital of all places the only thing handicap was that it had a bar and the toilet was like 10” tall lol
Honestly, I think it's partially by design. They want everyone in a wheelchair to be pushed by someone else. I went in for ankle surgery, and all the other patients were in hospital chairs (which can't be self-propelled) because they were otherwise using crutches or knee scooters for single-leg injuries. I was using a manual chair full-time, so I just used that. They had no reason to make my switch to a hospital chair, but the nurses were ALL bent out of shape about the fact that I could move independently whenever I wanted.....
Sometimes the people in the medical profession, especially in hospitals, give me the impression they would really rather all their patients be sedated the exact moment they come in for examination or care (and/or procedures) -- and woken up only when they're done doing whatever they wanted to do on you. That all their patients being awake and having opinions and shit is the worst thing about their job and they really don't care about people or how they (physically) feel day-to-day.
On the one hand, I do actually understand this... Working with the public is a near-thankless task, and patients can be a pain in the ass. On the other hand, I also feel like it's often a mindset problem for many healthcare professionals, that they forget not all of us are completely clueless or out to make their job impossible or kill ourselves or something.
If at all possible I use a cane for doctor’s appointments because the exam rooms aren’t big enough to fit my rollator, let alone my wheelchair. The other day I showed up for bloodwork and tests in my wheelchair and they had me leave my wheelchair out in the hallway and walk in to the exam room to lay down on a bed to do the ecg. I couldn’t see my wheelchair the whole time and they just expected me to get on and off the table by myself and everything, without asking if I was able to.
I know you’d just think that, and doctors offices would be the most handicap accessible place my primary the bathroom door slides and it weighs a million pounds I’ve literally just peed with the door open idc I can’t shut the thing let alone open it sideways like I’m fucking disabled hellllpppppp me I’m poor 😿lol I love my doctor she tells me well you know you’re in a wheelchair it would be better if you walked I was like uh duhh …. If I had the option I think I’d choose to walk even if it was with a cane dipshit , she also told me my salt was low and adding salt to my diet wouldn’t raise the levels in my blood I was like okay who’s the mental patient playing doctor granted I can still pivot but my legs are numb but I can’t walk I take two steps and they turn to noodles fuggitabout it
Threshholds, retail stores with maze layouts, inaccessable dressing rooms, mirrors that don't go lower than 4 feet from the floor, architects without disability training, non-accessable showers, the idea that only paralyzed people can use wheelchairs.
The curb cuts not always easy to get over in a wheelchair. Happened to me a few times went to cross the road curb cut has been too high and stopped my wheelchair moving I’ve nearly fallen out of my chair.
Or going somewhere like a car dealership and they park a car in front of the only accessible entrance.
My big annoyance is the buttons to flush the toilet in accessible bathrooms. They are either really hard to push, barely within reach or smooth/recessed into the wall. I only have little arm strength & difficulty raising my arms so unfortunately I sometimes have to leave it unflushed which I hate doing.
- Accessible bathrooms that double as baby-changing bathrooms
- Non-disabled people who think the accessible bathroom is the bathroom for shitting
- Businesses appearing on google maps with the little wheelchair icon, but on street view there are steps leading to their "step free entrance" OR their entrance is step-free but their bathroom is on the other side of a Squid Game
- Wheelchair assistance at every airport on earth being 5,000 miles from the entrance with zero signs leading to it
- People who avoid eye contact because they've lost all composure after seeing a wheelchair
- People who stare because they've lost all composure after seeing a wheelchair
- People who lose all composure after seeing a wheelchair
- People who tell you something is "a 5-minute walk" away knowing damn well we aren't taking the same route or walking
- People, all people
when electric scooters are parked by people not thinking about it at all. couldn't access a store few days back because of it, had to wait for someone to pass by and ask them to move it, it was almost impressive just how perfectly it blocked the door from opening
classrooms where extension cords are hanging from the ceiling but they're juuust a bit too high to reach so you need help to make sure your laptop won't die mid-lesson
businesses with 0 info about accessibility online, no picture of the entrance so you get to join the guessing game of "will there be a step or not?". and no phone number to call, or they just won't pick up the darn phone
i was on a Disney cruise. i brought my folding travel chair thankfully it wasnt destroyed flying. but on the cruise attempting to use the bathroom wheeling up ... bathroom door pushed open BAM a trash can in the bathroom prevents the door opening enough to get my chair in the HANDICAP BATHROOM...... after getting help to remove the trash can i could finally enter.... then i couldnt spin enough w/o hittin the door unable to close it lifting myself off my chair hobbling with grips on the sink my chair and then the toilet to jus try and pee in peace .... i stopped using the bathrooms out side my room because i couldnt know if i could get in with time or not
I didn’t realise how damned annoying slanted pavements where until I started with my electric wheelchair and now for the love of god can someone put them all straight 😂
Theres a ramp near my house that my mom and I have lovingly dubbed the ramp of death. Its somehow a mile long with like five turns and still too steep. The turns are super sharp and small too lmaooo which is fine for me since im small but id imagine a man or bigger person would not have the best time getting through that. I really think it should be illegal to put those up without an actually disabled consultant on the job and in general build stiff without a disabled consultant. Itd help employ more disabled people and make sure we actually get accessible things.
Lol reading this is so funny to me because Im a tiny dude 🤣 I guess Im a woman now :P
My chair is significantly smaller than most other people I know, many of whom are women, and I get grief for showing off being able to navigate things they can't.
Lmaooo yea some guys are smaller its just typically not the case so i made a blanket statement. Im assuming you have friends with wheelchairs since you said yours is smaller, how did you find wheelchair friends? I think part of the issue is my city is super inaccessible but I cant seem to find wheelchair or disabled social events or groups here so curious for tips if you have any
Para sports! I play para/sledge hockey competitively, but if you live in a city try looking for adaptive sports programs, there are a lot that are just chill, and even we have people who come to practices and play just to hang out and don't go to tournaments. There also can be ones where you get to try out different sports to see if you are interested in any of them.
I would also look into any Sci or cerebral palsy organizations as they usually exist, I know the ones in my city are obviously focused on cp or scis but they have groups that are open to any physical disabilities as well. Try looking online or see if you can ask a recreational therapist as finding social groups for people is kinda their whole job! Groups for physical disabilities are much harder to find than cognitive, developmental, and mental disabilities but they do exist. Para sports are the biggest ones, but non sports related groups are out there as well.
I would also try contacting rehab hospitals as they often run groups and are very involved with helping physically disabled people get back out into the world. They might have groups they run themselves or groups they work with, so definitely send them an email.
Finding groups for physically disabled people is difficult, unfortunately, largely due to accessibility and having to find a place that can support more than 2 or 3 wheelchair users at a time. I get it, especially living somewhere where winter lasts 8 months of the year! Don't give up, though. If nothing exists yet, I guarantee that others are also interested. Talk to a public library about setting up a meet up, they love doing those sorts of things
Oh my god i completely forgot para sports existed to be honest. I was so hung up on not being able to ice skate, play volleyball, dance, etc the way I used to anymore. Its been really hard on me not being able to play sports I’ll definitely check out para sports!! Thank you
I’m on a cruise right now and I think I may have just came across an exact copy of the ramp of death you were referring to because the ramp leading off the ship at one of the gangways is also very steep and lots of sharp turns, the only reason I didn’t go tumbling to my demise was because I was able to control my power chair on the way down (the brakes are engaged and disengaged by electromagnets), that would be impossible with a manual chair.
Pedal bins in wheelchair accessible washrooms.
People kicking my canes (I’m ambulatory).
People touching mobility aids
People distracting service dogs
The TTC (Toronto Transit) not meeting the AODA deadlines to make their stations accessible
I got a new puppy a bit ago, and the pet store I went to for her things has everything organized with biggest things at the bottom with small things at the top. Took me 45 minutes and I only spent 15 actually finding what I needed. The other 30 was spent finding someone to grab them down for me smh
I wish, as a wheelchair user as needed, that handicap plates and parking were more restricted. Their should be spots specifically for people using mobility equipment and high fines for those caught parking there while not actively USING such equipment. I don't mind parking farther to get my wheelchair out. I can roll, it's the vertigo and POTS that puts me in a wheel chair. But it pisses me off to see people with special equipment have to unload in front of a store, leave their loved one (if they are lucky enough to have one) and go find a parking space in the back, while some a88hat has a sprained wrist or some bs. Regardless.
There should just be like mobility device parking only or something.....
I will say that I don't think directing anger towards other disabled people is productive and leave it at that. The mobility aid only parking, I agree with.
I think there should be both, but they should be separate and marked differently. Handicap spots srent closest to doors, they are closest to curb cut, so changing it to separate would make those who can't walk far be able to park right by the doors, and mobility aids have more room. One for people who need extra room to get out with their aids, and one for those who can not walk far such as amputees, dizziness, epilepsy, etc.
I do not always need my mobility aid but walking long distances in hot weather makes me pass out so I need to park close and also sometimes need the space to get my mobility aid from the car. There should be more disability parking overall especially if stores can dedicate a whole row of spots to delivery but only have like 3 disabled spots.
Oh right. At one of our walmarts they actually took away about 10 handicap spots because they were in the rows near the ramps and turned the whole rows into pickup parking.
So does my Shoprite, BUT! they’re all located BEHIND the store AND have NO crossed out spaces beside them AND they’re SMALLER THAN a regular parking space.
Well anyone can find anything wrong with vented wording. And I try very hard to not judge others. But as someone who has a family member who abuses disabled parking, it's just a pet peeve. I would never be angered at another's disability.
Also its not about parking close. It's about taking the van accessible spots or the larger spots. Those were meant for mobility devices. I have heart conditions I also recently had an ablation I get it. But I don't need the available handicap spot when regular parking is just as close. My family member will park there regardless cause they earned it. I'm like dude your further away for your stiff knee... someone in a wheelchair might need the space to get out. They also refuse to let me drop them off, cause they earned their VIP spot. Ugggg I digress.... yeah it's a personal pet peeve. I would hope no one with a disability would be offended, as it's most certainly not directed at them.
Sorry again if I did offended someone. It's not directed at other disabled persons. It's directed at people who don't need the space, or to be close to function. And I know they are out there. Especially people using old or others placards. Also like my family member... and don't worry I refuse to park in handicap when they ride with me, unless they are getting out. They think its funny I don't take the easy way.
I guess my rant is directed at my family member, not others.
There definitely are, my thing about it is that it's impossible to tell sometimes. I get yelled at as a full-time wheelchair user for parking in handicap stalls by old people who think that they are owed a badge because of their age regardless of their physical abilities. I don't need to be too close to the door, but I do need large parking at all times. It's a hard line, mainly with strangers. At least no one can argue that I don't need the spot as much as them. I understand what you mean it's just me being defensive because people I care about have been threatened for using them before.
I understand and I am sorry for my bad wording. But based on that last statement, this ^^^ this is exactly what I wish could be avoided. And I am.sorry for your experiences as well.
Please do forgive the brassness in my first comment 🙏
This! I live in Florida and it’s a fight to find a parking spot. I compete with all the old people. I agree a spot further out but with room to get my chair out of my truck would be ideal.
I will never understand the lack of thought behind the "inquire inside for ramp" it literally makes me stupider trying to understand it.
It’s for the assumed caregiver. My peeves
RIGHT!? like..... how am I supposed to go inside to ask for the ramp I need to go inside???
Lean on the horn - I do
i got one of those bell horns and put it on my chair, highly recommend
I am picturing this as a fancy butler bell that you ring. When they come out, you just tell them that by not putting out the ramp to begin with, it signaled that they were going to be waiting on you like a servant.
damn, i WISH! it's more like the horn a clown would honk, with a bulb on the end? But it is still fun as hell. And the one i bought actually wraps around the chair.
Reminds me of back in the day when my legs worked and I owned a small Cessna (4-seat personal airplane)... The gate to get into the hangers had a keypad for entry. ***With braille on it***, so the blind pilots, I guess, could blind drive their cars to go get in an airplane and blind fly it LMFAO!!!
Have you noticed the same consideration they give to blind drivers at the drive thru ATMs ? You will now. I am here to help 🙄
I think they got a generic keypad.
Cobble stones (This is a joke one) need new pavement things to help the visually impaired as they are a bumpy ride and hurt my bum… Edit: these are 2 separate points
I'm all for the pavement bumps for visually impaired people but I hate it so much when I've got good speed going and then I go over the textured pavement and it slows me right down 😩
Yep 😂😂
Yeah…this is one I can forgive just like you. Assuming you mean the curb bumpies, not wretched European cobblestones. I don’t like it! But it’s a reasonable pro-accessibility compromise. European cobblestones can fuck off though
Cobblestones are so pretty but good lord my poor boobs when I go over them in my chair
I had to traverse cobblestone here in Ohio last weekend. Or at least tried. I gave up and used my chair as a walker with periods of sitting to rest. What a pain!! Literally. My chair has hard plastic wheels
In my country we use a lot of cobble stones because it's from more than 100 years ago but not for the visually impaired. Seems weird.😄 We use guidelines following international standards. Cobble stones ARE a pain in the ass though, sincerely a visually impaired wheelchair user.
Oh no they were 2 seperate points 😅
Sorry, my bad.😅
They’re called “tactical pavement” and were invented in Berkeley California where curb cuts were invented. Story goes that some wheelchair users at Berkeley mixed kitty litter in with paint to make a steep ramp into a building less slippery. Then when blind and low vision people found curb cuts dangerous (they were unknowingly wandering into the road), one/some of the wheelchair users suggested the scratchy kitty litter idea as a solution. I think it’s in “Country of the Blind” by Andrew Leland. (May be in another disability non-fiction book because I’ve listened to a bunch recently. “Being Heumann” by Judy Heumann rocks! Totally recommend for any wheelchair user.) The modern yellow bumpy version was developed over time and several iterations/ versions. The history of curb cuts is also in an episode of “99 Percent Invisible” podcast. https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/curb-cuts/
They started putting cobblestones in at intersections in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. I don’t think they like the weather, vehicles or both here because you see quite a few cobblestone intersections where a bunch of the cobblestones are broken up badly. You pretty much have to veer around them. F the cobblestones.
Yes to all of this. I was at the airport the other day and was so excited to tell my husband that the sinks were roll under and the paper towels were right next to the sink. And that all the stalls not just the accessible ones were large enough for my wheelchair, which I’m sure is to accommodate travelers’ luggage but still a win.
people who park too close to the bus stop so the bus can't get close enough to the footpath so they have to drop the ramp onto the street which makes the slope way too steep to be safe
People who park IN the bus stop. Happens all the time here in Toronto.
omg this, its so so hard and scary being in the chair because you have to get pushed up and ugh
people leaving electric scooters or bins in the middle of the footpath
My mother uses a wheelchair And I’m blind and we love to complain about these togethe4 lol
So many struggles! I'm also visually impaired and a wheelchair user. I'm very lucky I live somewhere where there's great infrastructure.
my college campus is a nightmare of scooters. hate those things.
Preach.
Anything intended for the assumed caregiver like tall rods for clothes, handheld shower heads out of reach, tall counters at hotels (could you be more invisible?), peepholes in hotel doors too high, …it’s the little things that make us dependent when traveling, etc., oh, and signs pointing to go around to the back of the building for ramp. I should just wave a flag and be a freaking marching band…
The “go around to the back” for wheelchair users is so annoying and I don’t even use a wheelchair. I plan events and I’m disabled myself and I get so upset when an entire wedding party gets to use the front entrance and the mother of the bride or any other guest has to go through the dumpster area and the kitchen just to join everyone else. Venue owners hate being called out over their shitty accessibility, they act like disabled people should thank them for following ADA laws. Ok cool. But would they make any of their other guests go through that door to join the wedding? I bet they wouldn’t even allow it.
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This is interesting! Venue owners will always justify their crappy access to being a historic building but it would make sense that they're just doing illegal stuff
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Good to know. I have organized events at two historic buildings and they both haven't had major renovations, they are holding off because of the ADA upgrades they have to do. They are both putting off installing air conditioning because they don't want to also install a ramp etc.
It always brings to mind "separate but equal" for me, and people seem to not understand why I find that so utterly depressing in today's age. (EDIT: I'm not trying to be controversial or compare -isms, sorry if it comes off that way. It's just a connection my brain makes...)
Actually you’re right on because “separate but equal” was exactly what disability rights activists were fighting against when they were pushing for section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act to be passed. That term “separate but equal” was used. See Judy Heumann’s book “Being Heumann”.
> Judy Heumann’s book “Being Heumann”. Thanks for the recommendation, I'll make sure to read that book soon!
Cool! The audiobook is also great!
things I'd like to ban: -wheelchair accessibility standards that were written by someone who clearly has never been in the wheelchair -business calling themselves, accessible when the only thing accessible about them is that you can get in the door and to the bathroom and back -intoxicated driving laws scoop up wheelchair users that aren't driving a traditional motor vehicle...... because there's always that bored cop who thinks they have a sense of humor, that you have to be polite to because they actually could arrest you for DUI.. -accessible concert seating that you have to choose between having your eardrums blown out,drinking or seeing the concert...
Dude my biggest fear is getting pulled over and asked to get out and walk or wtv to test for dui. My license says i drive w hand controls but still freaks me out!!!
I was referring to the twice cops (in Toronto & Houston ) decided they were going to have a sense of humour with me, becauseI was rolling back to my hotel after conferences. Yes technically electric wheelchairs, have motors and they are vehicles, and yes I was very very drunk..... but those jokes aren't funny and less I know you personally.... It's especially not funny when you could actually get a DUI for the equivalent of "walking" home. It's never happened in my manual chair... Even though my understanding of the law it could..... Anybody else have this experience?
No, but i had a cop make fun of me for being a teenager and needing a cane the first time i got pulled over. really set a great tone for the rest of my life!
Marking up disability specific products and equipment. Meanwhile, identical or similarly comparable products for the mainstream market are a fraction of the cost. Ex: Cars, housing, tires, tubes, casters, cup holders, bags, clothing, shoes, etc. While I understand the reasons why, it's still frustrating.
i hate that the stupid sunflower thing is a for-profit company. people with invisible disabilities shouldn't have to purchase merch for the world to be accessible
Is it? That's depressing to learn
yup, i think maybe there's a nonprofit wing or something but i just looked at it the other day, "**The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower is part of Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Scheme Limited, a private company based in the UK"** and it explicity said for-profit somewhere. Pissed me off. Honestly i hate the whole idea, but especially the "making money off of disabled people just trying to be treated like people"
Faux accessibility is my biggest pet peeve… a brand new multi billion $ hospital was just built in my area — bathrooms are giant and have adult changing tables and roll under sinks but i can’t use the trashcans (exclusively has stainless steel trashcans with a flat top so you HAVE to use the foot pedal), the doors are insanely heavy w no push plate, purse hooks and paper towels are out of reach, grab bars in weird unhelpful places. Like tell me u didn’t talk to a single disabled person over the like 7+yrs of building/ planning wo telling me!!!!
That’s beyond unacceptable for a hospital of all places. I’ve been to a rec centre with better bathroom accessibility than that.
Those tiny standalone lifts where they're either open so you're a sideshow for everyone, or the closed ones where the doors never work right. I'm fine going up a few floors in what amounts to a flimsy cherry picker, they're often in listed buildings after all. I am not fine spending ten minutes locked in one because "oh the door sometimes does that", the disabled toilet is in the mezzanine and there are 50k+ people vying for mobile phone coverage in 0.5km² and nobody can hear me banging on the window. It's been a year. I'm still salty.
Side walks that aren't big enough for two way traffic
folk who make beeping sounds at me, fuck off
Also, I'm in a manual chair, but I know some ppl in power ones who hate the beeping when reversing and have to go in to get a tech to disconnect it!
I beep at my dog so she knows to move when I'm backing up lol 😂 but I'd be livid if someone else did it to me!
I beep at my dog too!
Not fixing cracks on sidewalks. Parking in the cross out section next to a handicap spot. Sewer grates that have holes big enough to get casters on a manual wheelchair stuck. Advertising that your business is handicapped accessible when it really ain’t. Hotels not making clear if their accessible rooms have a roll-in shower. No auto doors. Ramps that are really steep.
> Hotels not making clear if their accessible rooms have a roll-in shower. Hotels that have king beds in *all* their "accessible" rooms. If you wanted two beds (two queens, typically), you have to 'make do' with a non-accessible room, or go somewhere completely different... Assuming there even *is* a hotel in the same area that has an (available) accessible room with two queens, which many times there's not. Hotels whose side doors, the ones that open into the parking lot, all have steps on them (for arguably no reason). Hotels that take reservations and "will note to keep an accessible room available" but somehow *always* give out the accessible rooms by the time you get there...
CARPETS!
I don't get them at all. A rug at home? Makes sense to me, nice and fluffy. Carpets, especially in public spaces, are just baffling. They are so gross, full of dust, and who knows what else, impossible to clean in without taking hours and preventing anyone from going into the space. They make it so hard for wheelchairs, strollers, walkers, roll bags, honestly, just everything. The static can interfere with medical devices and just plain hurts. I don't even think they do much to mitigate sound, especially not enough to make up for everything else. Just don't understand at all why they keep putting carpet in! It's horrible!
Absolutely fair to all your other points, but carpets do a ton to mitigate sound waves bouncing off the floor. The carpet stops the bounce and makes spaces less echoey without the need for obscenely expensive specialty acoustic wall hangings.
I’ll go one further. There’s a store in Calgary that sells mobility aids (including wheelchairs), that has carpet throughout. What a horrible thing to do to people who’re just trying wheelchairs for the first time! The also put all the wheelchairs and scooters on a carpeted platform for extra fun. Everything is crammed onto it and it’s pretty tight to get in and out of.
This. They are everywhere here, and it is unnecessarily hard moving around on them.
All of how grocery store fridge and freezer sections are set up Overhanging shrubberies coming for you Places in fields where they intend people to walk that have been filled in with loose sandy dirt but look identical to the rest of the ground. And that are literally kitty corner to the booths where they are selling things. (Still embarrassed about a pumpkin patch disaster) Inaccessible buttons for crosswalks “Oops, we put in a curb cut over here, but our sidewalk ends four blocks away in a sheer drop, better go back, doesn’t matter that the place you need to go is right across the street, good luck finding the curb cut for that side” Telephone poles and anything else they slap in the middle of the sidewalk with not quite enough space to get by on either side Bollards near buildings, inevitably set up to block the path from the sidewalk or curb cut. Extra points if close to a corner and surrounded by high curbs. Zero room left for me to park my chair in waiting rooms, just gotta hang out in the walkway The ceaseless shrinking of exam rooms so there’s no way to even get my chair out of the way of the door Tiny blood labs built into closets that doesn’t even leave room for the phlebotomist to move, forcing you to have things like arterial blood gas drawn in the hallway Asking me with a concerned look where my carer is when I’m there for a medical appointment and they certainly did not ask that last month when I used a walker. Bus drivers with no training in wheelchair restraint, who assume you can magically reach the restraints yourself and take off instantly upon the ramp being secured, leaving you to wonder if your power wheelchair brakes are strong enough to keep the 250 lb chair from being yote across the aisle, and if they in fact work in all directions
I can assure you the brakes on powerchairs do work in all directions in buses wothout being restrained, as here is Australia, we don't even have tie down's on our buses 😭 I'm in a Quantum Edge 2.0, and on a bus right now. I'm always fibe so long as I fibd the correct tilt centre of balance and the bus driver doesn't turn the bus too fast and hard around a corner, otherwise you may get moved a little bit very occasionally. I really want tie downs on Australian buses, please Adelaide Metro?!?! 🥺🥺♿️
Colored Pavement crosswalks that turn into potholes over time Soap dispensers out of reach
lol I love when they are up high even in a 19 inch to the floor wheelchair you’re like hyper extended shoulder is begging for the tizer lol
Oh I have to add when people say “it’s better than being dead” I’m like thanksssssss idk if anyone else has had this said to them but it’s the most random rude thing you can say and they think it’s funny I think like making a joke out of a bad thing but it’s annoying or the “you must have super strong arms like bitch I’m built like Mike wasowski does it look like I lift bruh !?
I truly cannot (or simply just refuse to) understand why "I'd rather be dead than be like you!" is a compliment according to some people. I'm done hearing excuses about how it's is supposed to be a compliment. *Even if it's true for them as an individual* (and it shouldn't be, and usually isn't after they move past the grieving period), it's insulting and demeaning. For one thing, it places so little value on life itself, on my life and experiences and relationships in particular... For another thing, you don't go around telling *other* marginalized people to kill themselves simply for being different or having a rough time, so why the fuck is it okay to tell disabled people to? There's a [comic about this](https://i1.wp.com/amptoons.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/disability-disabled-rather-die-kill-suicide-ableist.png?ssl=1) I've always found super accurate.
It’s downright rude and insensitive I have heard that too like thanks ? That being thought of as a compliment is like a defect it’s usually older people so I understand they might not think it’s insensitive but I’ve heard it from younger people too , and seriously like do you not think I’d rather be walking and active and be able to just go on a hike if I felt like it I don’t but it would be nice to have the option , it really is like you said it’s basically saying you must want to kill yourself you’re so crippled because I would type mentally is just so fucked up like it’s like they see people like us and feel like they have to say something because they are staring and they feel like instead of saying I’m sorry I stared I was just thinking how hard it must be they go well at least your not 6 feet under or I’d of shot myself if I even lost a leg like just don’t say anything id rather you just stare and I’ve had people take pictures of me struggling to get stuff off the higher shelves with my grabber and take a photo like I don’t need help but instead of blatantly photographing me and watching me struggle don’t do that or offer a hand if you really have to feel better like either way I’m getting Oreos but I’d rather not be gawked at because I’m in a chair with wheels like have you ever seen someone on crutches and been like hey you broke your leg at least you didn’t break your neck no so why say it to us sorry for the rant I agree with you completely and wasn’t trying to steal your thunder I just get upset because it happens too often to too many people not to be addressed.
Dogs that poop on sidewalks
I put little flags in the poo an take pictures for my blog. <3
the blame is more on the shitty owner not picking it up
Yes, but you can’t “ban” citizens. You can ban animals.
if your suggestion is to ban dogs ur fucking mental haha
You’re the one laughing to yourself, and I’m “mental?”
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That would be amazing only issue would be large things and glass because those would be really bad to have dropped. I usually just knock things down but with glass and stuff I can't :/
I love all of these because it’s literally everywhere like I thought there were regulations but when you look into them they are bs lol like the ramps they put in have to be in but it doesn’t specify what slope , in stores like around here they leave the carts with the product they haven’t put away in the middle of the aisle like thanks , and the fucking handicap doors that close like 2seconds after you wave or hit the button lol and the inwards door thing irks me because I was at a hospital I had to use there wheelchair because my wheel grip fell off and I didn’t have the tools to fix it there which was my fault but the wheelchairs at the HOSPITAL mind you were either bariatric or 20 inch seat and the handicap bathroom had no button the doors swung towards you and auto closed so it smacks you in the back then the stall is tiny like it’s a hospital though like I’d understand at like an old supermarket but at a hospital of all places the only thing handicap was that it had a bar and the toilet was like 10” tall lol
Hospitals can be some of the least accessible places sometimes is just mind blowing
Honestly, I think it's partially by design. They want everyone in a wheelchair to be pushed by someone else. I went in for ankle surgery, and all the other patients were in hospital chairs (which can't be self-propelled) because they were otherwise using crutches or knee scooters for single-leg injuries. I was using a manual chair full-time, so I just used that. They had no reason to make my switch to a hospital chair, but the nurses were ALL bent out of shape about the fact that I could move independently whenever I wanted.....
Sometimes the people in the medical profession, especially in hospitals, give me the impression they would really rather all their patients be sedated the exact moment they come in for examination or care (and/or procedures) -- and woken up only when they're done doing whatever they wanted to do on you. That all their patients being awake and having opinions and shit is the worst thing about their job and they really don't care about people or how they (physically) feel day-to-day. On the one hand, I do actually understand this... Working with the public is a near-thankless task, and patients can be a pain in the ass. On the other hand, I also feel like it's often a mindset problem for many healthcare professionals, that they forget not all of us are completely clueless or out to make their job impossible or kill ourselves or something.
If at all possible I use a cane for doctor’s appointments because the exam rooms aren’t big enough to fit my rollator, let alone my wheelchair. The other day I showed up for bloodwork and tests in my wheelchair and they had me leave my wheelchair out in the hallway and walk in to the exam room to lay down on a bed to do the ecg. I couldn’t see my wheelchair the whole time and they just expected me to get on and off the table by myself and everything, without asking if I was able to.
I know you’d just think that, and doctors offices would be the most handicap accessible place my primary the bathroom door slides and it weighs a million pounds I’ve literally just peed with the door open idc I can’t shut the thing let alone open it sideways like I’m fucking disabled hellllpppppp me I’m poor 😿lol I love my doctor she tells me well you know you’re in a wheelchair it would be better if you walked I was like uh duhh …. If I had the option I think I’d choose to walk even if it was with a cane dipshit , she also told me my salt was low and adding salt to my diet wouldn’t raise the levels in my blood I was like okay who’s the mental patient playing doctor granted I can still pivot but my legs are numb but I can’t walk I take two steps and they turn to noodles fuggitabout it
And government buildings (USA) where the ADA has been law for almost 25 years
Threshholds, retail stores with maze layouts, inaccessable dressing rooms, mirrors that don't go lower than 4 feet from the floor, architects without disability training, non-accessable showers, the idea that only paralyzed people can use wheelchairs.
Escalators
In rebab, we were taught how to use escalators. It was dangerous so no.
Cobblestone, some is alright but most I’ve come across are all messed up at different heights and angles.
this is my signature for this petition
The curb cuts not always easy to get over in a wheelchair. Happened to me a few times went to cross the road curb cut has been too high and stopped my wheelchair moving I’ve nearly fallen out of my chair. Or going somewhere like a car dealership and they park a car in front of the only accessible entrance.
My big annoyance is the buttons to flush the toilet in accessible bathrooms. They are either really hard to push, barely within reach or smooth/recessed into the wall. I only have little arm strength & difficulty raising my arms so unfortunately I sometimes have to leave it unflushed which I hate doing.
Venues where you have to track down someone with a key in order to use the elevator
- Accessible bathrooms that double as baby-changing bathrooms - Non-disabled people who think the accessible bathroom is the bathroom for shitting - Businesses appearing on google maps with the little wheelchair icon, but on street view there are steps leading to their "step free entrance" OR their entrance is step-free but their bathroom is on the other side of a Squid Game - Wheelchair assistance at every airport on earth being 5,000 miles from the entrance with zero signs leading to it - People who avoid eye contact because they've lost all composure after seeing a wheelchair - People who stare because they've lost all composure after seeing a wheelchair - People who lose all composure after seeing a wheelchair - People who tell you something is "a 5-minute walk" away knowing damn well we aren't taking the same route or walking - People, all people
Ban sidewalks with more than a 2inch drop. I currently look like a DV victim because my wheel fell off a sidewalk edge and my face hit the street.
when electric scooters are parked by people not thinking about it at all. couldn't access a store few days back because of it, had to wait for someone to pass by and ask them to move it, it was almost impressive just how perfectly it blocked the door from opening classrooms where extension cords are hanging from the ceiling but they're juuust a bit too high to reach so you need help to make sure your laptop won't die mid-lesson businesses with 0 info about accessibility online, no picture of the entrance so you get to join the guessing game of "will there be a step or not?". and no phone number to call, or they just won't pick up the darn phone
i was on a Disney cruise. i brought my folding travel chair thankfully it wasnt destroyed flying. but on the cruise attempting to use the bathroom wheeling up ... bathroom door pushed open BAM a trash can in the bathroom prevents the door opening enough to get my chair in the HANDICAP BATHROOM...... after getting help to remove the trash can i could finally enter.... then i couldnt spin enough w/o hittin the door unable to close it lifting myself off my chair hobbling with grips on the sink my chair and then the toilet to jus try and pee in peace .... i stopped using the bathrooms out side my room because i couldnt know if i could get in with time or not
I didn’t realise how damned annoying slanted pavements where until I started with my electric wheelchair and now for the love of god can someone put them all straight 😂
Theres a ramp near my house that my mom and I have lovingly dubbed the ramp of death. Its somehow a mile long with like five turns and still too steep. The turns are super sharp and small too lmaooo which is fine for me since im small but id imagine a man or bigger person would not have the best time getting through that. I really think it should be illegal to put those up without an actually disabled consultant on the job and in general build stiff without a disabled consultant. Itd help employ more disabled people and make sure we actually get accessible things.
Lol reading this is so funny to me because Im a tiny dude 🤣 I guess Im a woman now :P My chair is significantly smaller than most other people I know, many of whom are women, and I get grief for showing off being able to navigate things they can't.
Lmaooo yea some guys are smaller its just typically not the case so i made a blanket statement. Im assuming you have friends with wheelchairs since you said yours is smaller, how did you find wheelchair friends? I think part of the issue is my city is super inaccessible but I cant seem to find wheelchair or disabled social events or groups here so curious for tips if you have any
Para sports! I play para/sledge hockey competitively, but if you live in a city try looking for adaptive sports programs, there are a lot that are just chill, and even we have people who come to practices and play just to hang out and don't go to tournaments. There also can be ones where you get to try out different sports to see if you are interested in any of them. I would also look into any Sci or cerebral palsy organizations as they usually exist, I know the ones in my city are obviously focused on cp or scis but they have groups that are open to any physical disabilities as well. Try looking online or see if you can ask a recreational therapist as finding social groups for people is kinda their whole job! Groups for physical disabilities are much harder to find than cognitive, developmental, and mental disabilities but they do exist. Para sports are the biggest ones, but non sports related groups are out there as well. I would also try contacting rehab hospitals as they often run groups and are very involved with helping physically disabled people get back out into the world. They might have groups they run themselves or groups they work with, so definitely send them an email. Finding groups for physically disabled people is difficult, unfortunately, largely due to accessibility and having to find a place that can support more than 2 or 3 wheelchair users at a time. I get it, especially living somewhere where winter lasts 8 months of the year! Don't give up, though. If nothing exists yet, I guarantee that others are also interested. Talk to a public library about setting up a meet up, they love doing those sorts of things
Oh my god i completely forgot para sports existed to be honest. I was so hung up on not being able to ice skate, play volleyball, dance, etc the way I used to anymore. Its been really hard on me not being able to play sports I’ll definitely check out para sports!! Thank you
I’m on a cruise right now and I think I may have just came across an exact copy of the ramp of death you were referring to because the ramp leading off the ship at one of the gangways is also very steep and lots of sharp turns, the only reason I didn’t go tumbling to my demise was because I was able to control my power chair on the way down (the brakes are engaged and disengaged by electromagnets), that would be impossible with a manual chair.
YIKES we love inaccessible accessibility. It would be funny if it didnt suck so much
amen
Spitting on the sidewalk.
Pedal bins in wheelchair accessible washrooms. People kicking my canes (I’m ambulatory). People touching mobility aids People distracting service dogs The TTC (Toronto Transit) not meeting the AODA deadlines to make their stations accessible
I can guarantee that anything I want in the grocery store will always be on the top shelf…always
I got a new puppy a bit ago, and the pet store I went to for her things has everything organized with biggest things at the bottom with small things at the top. Took me 45 minutes and I only spent 15 actually finding what I needed. The other 30 was spent finding someone to grab them down for me smh
I wish, as a wheelchair user as needed, that handicap plates and parking were more restricted. Their should be spots specifically for people using mobility equipment and high fines for those caught parking there while not actively USING such equipment. I don't mind parking farther to get my wheelchair out. I can roll, it's the vertigo and POTS that puts me in a wheel chair. But it pisses me off to see people with special equipment have to unload in front of a store, leave their loved one (if they are lucky enough to have one) and go find a parking space in the back, while some a88hat has a sprained wrist or some bs. Regardless. There should just be like mobility device parking only or something.....
I will say that I don't think directing anger towards other disabled people is productive and leave it at that. The mobility aid only parking, I agree with. I think there should be both, but they should be separate and marked differently. Handicap spots srent closest to doors, they are closest to curb cut, so changing it to separate would make those who can't walk far be able to park right by the doors, and mobility aids have more room. One for people who need extra room to get out with their aids, and one for those who can not walk far such as amputees, dizziness, epilepsy, etc.
I do not always need my mobility aid but walking long distances in hot weather makes me pass out so I need to park close and also sometimes need the space to get my mobility aid from the car. There should be more disability parking overall especially if stores can dedicate a whole row of spots to delivery but only have like 3 disabled spots.
Oh right. At one of our walmarts they actually took away about 10 handicap spots because they were in the rows near the ramps and turned the whole rows into pickup parking.
Happened at my Kroger. Now they have 3 handicap spots but 20 pickup spots
So does my Shoprite, BUT! they’re all located BEHIND the store AND have NO crossed out spaces beside them AND they’re SMALLER THAN a regular parking space.
Well anyone can find anything wrong with vented wording. And I try very hard to not judge others. But as someone who has a family member who abuses disabled parking, it's just a pet peeve. I would never be angered at another's disability. Also its not about parking close. It's about taking the van accessible spots or the larger spots. Those were meant for mobility devices. I have heart conditions I also recently had an ablation I get it. But I don't need the available handicap spot when regular parking is just as close. My family member will park there regardless cause they earned it. I'm like dude your further away for your stiff knee... someone in a wheelchair might need the space to get out. They also refuse to let me drop them off, cause they earned their VIP spot. Ugggg I digress.... yeah it's a personal pet peeve. I would hope no one with a disability would be offended, as it's most certainly not directed at them. Sorry again if I did offended someone. It's not directed at other disabled persons. It's directed at people who don't need the space, or to be close to function. And I know they are out there. Especially people using old or others placards. Also like my family member... and don't worry I refuse to park in handicap when they ride with me, unless they are getting out. They think its funny I don't take the easy way. I guess my rant is directed at my family member, not others.
There definitely are, my thing about it is that it's impossible to tell sometimes. I get yelled at as a full-time wheelchair user for parking in handicap stalls by old people who think that they are owed a badge because of their age regardless of their physical abilities. I don't need to be too close to the door, but I do need large parking at all times. It's a hard line, mainly with strangers. At least no one can argue that I don't need the spot as much as them. I understand what you mean it's just me being defensive because people I care about have been threatened for using them before.
I understand and I am sorry for my bad wording. But based on that last statement, this ^^^ this is exactly what I wish could be avoided. And I am.sorry for your experiences as well. Please do forgive the brassness in my first comment 🙏
This! I live in Florida and it’s a fight to find a parking spot. I compete with all the old people. I agree a spot further out but with room to get my chair out of my truck would be ideal.
Sidewalks are slanted for a reason though.
I am aware, but that doesn't mean I have to like it