You Fail At Accessibility

[synecdochic]

Have you ever been in an 'accessible' hotel room that had an half-inch-high curb at the threshhold? Ever been caught in a 22" wide wheelchair facing down a 20" door? Ever been assured that the allegedly-accessible route has 'just' one step?

Take a picture. Then post it to the community, with where you were, what you noticed, and why that place fails at accessibility. (Filing ADA violation reports can be a community bonding activity!)

Pictures aren't necessary, and whether or not you have a picture, describe the situation as completely as you can. (That way those with visual-based disabilities can share in the mocking of the fail as well.) And if you come across someplace that does it right, please also feel free to post accessibility wins.

(All kinds of accessibility fail welcome: mobility-based, visual-based, physical-world, online-world, anything at all.)

Comments

[norabombay]

Does size count? For the purpose of the community? I'm thinking of the things I run into where everyday stuff is not made to cope with the size and weight of me and a goodly percentage of the population.

Desk chairs at DePaul University, I'm looking at you- it was a serious fat fail.

[synecdochic]

Sure! Things that are inaccessible for people of size are almost certainly inaccessible for other reasons, too.

[norabombay]

Awesome. I mean, not awesome that things are inaccessible. But awesome it is included.

Fat Fail is usually a fail on some other level- if it's not wide enough for me? It's certainly not wide enough for a wheelchair.

[synecdochic]

Exactly! And while I don't really want to class "fat" as a disability, per se, and the frustration that caused this comm to be born was one too many instances of the ADA getting flagrantly violated under my nose, something doesn't necessarily have to be ADA-noncompliant to be an accessibility fail. If that makes any sense.

[norabombay]

well, yes- fat is very much not a disability. I don't see it interfering with my daily life, or the gym, or work or whatever. But it does create the random issue with access.

And 90% of the time, that access issue applies to other people as well.

It is annoying that the stripper pole for Flirty Girl Fitness only holds 180lbs. But that isn't an access issue, that's just- well, actually Flirty Girl Fitness is an entire problem all it's own, but not for reasons of access.

That the bathrooms in public places are too small for me? Than they are going to be impossible for anyone who is using a wheel chair or some other form of mobility assistance.

I think this is an argument for me to continue to take my digital camera everywhere I go...

[marcelle42]

Can ask a question about this wrt bathrooms? ("No, I am not your personal tour guide today," is a perfectly acceptable answer.)

I am fat, and I find "standard" public restroom stalls very uncomfortable, sometimes inaccessible -- they're not wide enough for my knees, there's not enough space between the door and the toilet for me pull up my pants, and somehow, something's always going to end up wet. However, I was taught that the accessible stalls should be used only 1) if one is disabled, or 2) if everything else is full and there are no visibly-disabled people in line. That it is rude for (temporarily) able-bodied people to use accessible bathroom stalls just because they're roomy. I generally consider myself able-bodied, but I really find the standard stalls un-doable at times. What to do in this situation?

My gut reaction is that *all* stalls should be built to be more accommodating to a wider range of people, as well as insuring that there are stalls that accommodate wheelchairs and other assistive devices. But that's sort of a larger, systemic solution.

[norabombay]

Speaking only for myself, as a fat woman? If there is not someone waiting- either to use the accessable stall or at all?

I'll use the big one. I don't absolutely have to. But I find it very nice to be able to actually pull my pants up and down without banging an elbow. A super quick pee will result in someone who needs the stall being forced to wait all of 30 seconds.

I'm not monopolizing the facility. I'm not preventing anyone who needs it more from using it. But if no one is waiting, I feel I have the right to pee in relative comfort.

And yes, they ALL should be built bigger and easier to use- I blew out my quads at the gym on Wednesday, and spend most of the work week profoundly thankful for the bars in the stall at work, letting me get from sitting to standing without dying.

[synecdochic]

That's one of those subjects that everyone has a different answer for, but as far as I'm concerned, if you need the extra space for physical reasons (size, handicap, etc), you're perfectly entitled to it. The only time I get snarly is when the architect put the baby-changing table in the accessible stall, and even then I try to snarl at the designer, not at the parent. (This does not always happen, because sometimes parents take 20 minutes in the damn accessible stall while I sit waiting and needing to pee, and it is hard to remember to be gracious in a case like that.)

But seriously, needing to use the accessible stalls for issues of size is one of those things that if you ask five people about, you get seven opinions. As far as I'm concerned, it's a perfectly legit usage, though.