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

BritRail

[adina]

Accessibility fail? British railways. The train platforms are not standard to the train heights, so there's often a height difference up to 5 inches. I mentioned this to my brother, a naturalized British citizen, as an example of how Britain is at least twenty years behind the U.S. in handicapped accessibility (and the U.S. isn't great, as this community proves) and he said that it wasn't an issue because they will bring a ramp if requested. So I checked--yes, they will bring a ramp if requested 48 hours in advance. Yeah, that solves that issue. Not.

Re: BritRail

[cesy]

I would hate to have to navigate London in a wheelchair. Only a few of the Tube stations are accessible (in terms of having the accessible symbol on the map to say they've made an attempt - I don't know what proportion of those are actually accessible), and buses aren't exactly going to be much better.

Do you really have to book the ramps 48 hours in advance? That's terrible. I'd assumed you could just roll up and ask one of the staff.

I did hear a horror story from one girl who was stuck on the train and missed her stop because the staff at the station she should have been getting off at forgot to bring the ramp. On a long-distance train with stops half an hour apart, and hourly trains going back the other way, that's no joke.

Re: BritRail

[adina]

Ah, sorry, it's 24 hours notice (is that an improvement?) and they say they'll try to help if you don't give them notice but can't guarantee it.

Re: BritRail

[cesy]

I guess 24 hours is an improvement, though it's still not ideal.

Though it does now occur to me that for stations which are normally unstaffed, them not guaranteeing it without 24 hours' notice does seem reasonable. But for staffed stations, I think they should guarantee it. I also think if every train has a conductor on (which I think is true for some operators but not all), they should be able to guarantee it.