Just because Nova Scotia is oblivious to the needs of people in wheelchairs doesn’t mean I have to tolerate life threatening ineptitude when I venture out. On Spring Garden
Road there are many inconveniences, but three would earn gold at the Olympics of bad design.
• Dresden Row Market
o The only ramped entrance, at 1535 Dresden Row, is an accident waiting to happen. The ramp rises about three feet in twelve, making it approximately three times the accepted standard slope. The home made apron is so poorly designed that it qualifies as a hazard on its own. Ascending the ramp puts the user at one end of a landing which is five feet wide. A wheelchair user must traverse the whole length of the narrow landing, minding the four foot drop inches away, and then execute a 180 degree turn to use the power door button. Exiting requires the reverse maneuver – open door with button, go the wrong way on the landing, wait for door, execute 180 in completely inadequate space, traverse landing. down the steep and narrow ramp for a blind exit onto the sidewalk.
o This configuration, which seems to pass muster with Halifax’s fine building inspectors, is homicidal.
• Starbucks in the former Royal Bank
o Instead of modifying the front entrance, which is ideal for a ramp, this establishment was allowed to install a lift at the side entrance. They have a “Handicapped Access” sign at the front door, consolidating Halifax’s high standing in the World Series of obsolete and offensive language.
o The lift, summoned by a bell, is located in a crowded lobby with a high traffic ATM machine. Like so many similar installations, it is deemed that a user is incapable of operating the lift, so the bell gets a distracted barista with a key. The bottom of the lift puts the small landing in a corner, where it is extremely difficult to maneuver. My wheelchair is average size, and it fills the space allowed completely. A scooter would not fit. The lift is cheaply made, banged me on the head with an arm that is supposed to protect me, is slow, and blocks a busy stairway. It was designed by chimps, purchased by ninnies, installed by incompetents and approved by Halifax’s fine inspectors.
• The entrance to Park Lane Mall
o This classic of the Eyesore School of Architecture is merely a larger version of the Dresden Row entrance in the next block. The ramp is unacceptably long, the landing is dangerously narrow, the semi-accessible door is at the distant end of the landing, the doors are narrow and geometrically perverse, the timing is too short.
Do I take this personally? Am I offended? You bet. The owners of these establishments are treading on my Charter rights. Their enablers in government must be proud.
jmcgs.blogspot.com
This article appears in Aug 21-27, 2008.
This is an issue close to my heart as I have a disabled spouse. Spring Garden Road is only the tip of a very large iceberg of inaccessibility in this city. I truly sympathize, James.
I should add that my spouse was recently relocated from his old office to another building that had been gutted and renovated. The ‘brilliant’ architect that designed that cubicle monstrosity didn’t even take into account that maybe someone would need a wheelchair ramp. My spouse complained about this inaccessibility, especially for disabled clients. After months of waiting, his office ended up with a poorly constructed ramp as an hurry-up-and-get-the-damn-thing done afterthought. I cannot believe any competent designer would omit such a neccessity.
These are all things that you would never notice until you or someone you care about is in that situation. Unfortunately, it’s not limited to Halifax or NS. Earlier this year, my Mom suffered a major illness (in another province) and we were amazed at how many places she was restricted from entering in her chair. You could kind of see it happening in older architecture from supposedly ‘less enlightened’ times, but today’s architects have no excuse.
There is no excuse for an architect of any calibre to not include barrier free access of any sort, considering that it’s his name on the drawings. I thought we, as a society in the first world have gotten by this obstacle long ago. I myself do not suffer from an affliction whereby my mobility is curtailed, but I have friends who do suffer form various ailments who do indeed need barrier free access. And bye the way I hate the term ” handicapped ” of any sort. It’s an accessibility issue not a handicapped issue
Soo.. One ramp is too steep – And the other too long? Get a clue.
I had a friend with MS and the old infirmary had many, MANY doors that were too narrow for wheelchairs to gain access to, which I guess was part of the reason they tore the place down (there should be a park there now instead of a parking lot but that’s another bitch). It was insane the way we had to struggle to get her in and out of places. Universities here are woefully inaccesible as well. Surprising as they should be more enlightened and have too many new buildings to justify not having full access drawn up with their architecture plans. Most people’s houses aren’t accesible as well. I hate to say it, but it’d be hard for someone in a chair to get into my place and for all I know, someday I might need one. Many people require the use of a wheelchair or walker at somepoint in their lives. Maybe it should be a design standard to have some form of accesibility, whether it be the width of doorways or the height of counters, sinks and desks automatically drawn into new buildings or office plans. It’s not like that many changes would have to be made, just an inch or two here and there. I think maybe a few of us should be calling up the province over this. Who should we speak with James?
Adrian, you’re an ass.
I’ll second that motion Lilac. Adrian, you have now officially been deemed an asshole. Take that knowledge with great care because with the title of asshole comes very little in the way of expectations.
What I’ve often wondered- do people in wheelchairs not shop? This is more of a rhetorical question, because I know you do. But, the reason I ask is, how many shops can you actually get into? I find so many of them are small to begin with, and they’re crammed with racks and stuff, that a wheelchair wouldn’t be able to navigate around inside. Plus, for any shops that are on streets(as opposed to malls), there’s almost always a small step to go up. Even just an inch would be a barrier to you. So, what do you do?I thought of this one day while shopping with my sister and she had her baby in a stroller with her. A lot of places we couldn’t get into with the stroller, so it made me wonder just how accessible it is to those with wheelchairs or walking frames. I’m guessing, not very many are.
There are likely equal percentages of asshole disabled people as the general populace, if not more because of rage and frustration. With the advent of those motorized scooters that are about the same size as a smart car they are now classified as a threat to my personal well-being in my mind whenever I encounter one, thanks largely to a nasty woman who ran over my foot while using one inside Bookmark one day and didn’t even say anything. The fact of the matter is that while yes, we should take reasonable steps to make public areas accessible to those in wheelchairs, to pretend that every place can and should be accessible is a misguided dream. A story not often told is the one regarding the number of wheelchair-bound people who were instant victims the minute the planes hit the WTC, not because the initial impact or fire killed them, but becuase they were stuck on the floors they were on when the elevators went out. The same would hold true in any tall building if there is a fire and the elevators are unusable. It may be a risk they choose to take, but illustrates the fallacy that every building can be made in such a way that there is no difference for someone who is disabled.
No really, I don’t get it..I mean, I’m no architect – but wouldn’t the solution to a ramp being too long, be to shorten/steepen it? And wouldn’t the solution to a ramp being too steep be to lengthen it? I mean, people can’t just re-invent geometry because something is more difficult than we’d like it to be.Although I must agree, what Starbucks has done is fairly ridiculous instead of a 1step high ramp…
No I’m no architect either and am able bodied, so I really can’t spend some time in the OP’s position, but considering the bitch, there are some places lacking in barrier free access and I really don’t have any simple fixes. A lot or seemingly a lot of this barrier free access fix is done as an after thought, rather than in the build stage. Just my 2 cents worth.
Adrian, you don’t have to be an architect, you only have to be a six years old and remember the story of Goldilocks and the three bears to understand the solution to the ramp problem. Some are too long and shallow, some are too short and steep, and others are…you guessed it….just right. Stairs are all built to similar codes with the rise and depth falling into a pre-determined “just right range”, why not access ramps?
That’s a good ? Miles. God knows who one would ask about such things, maybe the HRM planning Dept, naw forget that, they are locked up in some other erstwhile bullshit adventure like the widening of Chebucto Road. That’s another story all together. Might want to consult the local Builders Code Book. I’ve never googled it, but it must be out there somewhere .