Anyone could need disability access

Life isn’t fair and I don’t expect to be able to do everything I want. I contracted polio as a child and have lived with my disability for most of my life. The ADA made things much easier for me. That said there is still much more that can be done. Todd Cunningham is right about retrofitting historic buildings. It can be expensive and in many cases just not possible. My experience downtown is that most business owners are helpful and accommodating, are making a genuine effort to help.

But there is no excuse for new buildings not being accessible. The folks at the Community Foundation were great in keeping the locked door at the PUD building open whenever I called in advance. My concern is for folks who don’t have a contact with someone in the building. They are locked out and segregated in the back of the building by the dumpster. Installing a door bell or intercom would improve access. It is less expensive and easier to design access in at the start. The city might want to consider adopting universal access design principles that allow for creative and less costly ways of meeting the needs of folks with disabilities.

As I told Zoe, we’re all just a broken ankle or knee replacement away from needing better access.

This story was originally published October 6, 2017 at 5:23 PM with the headline "Anyone could need disability access."