Most businessmen do not think about all of the obstacles they put in the way of every
person with a disability who comes to their places of purveyance. Here is a list of all of
the obstacles they provide without thinking.
- LONG WALKS
Remember that some people can't walk at all.
Remember that some people use walkers.
Remember that some people can't stand up for long periods.
- Putting the exit from the store a distance away from the entrance to the store
- A long distance between the handicap parking spaces and the store entrance
- Putting spaces for curbside pickup closer than the handicap spaces so the employees
don't have to carry products as far
- Not providing places to sit down and rest in the store
- One-way aisles force longer walks
- Long narrow store layout means longer walks
- A distance between handicap spaces and where electric carts are kept
- Decorative foliage in the way of the walking person
- HANDICAP SPACES
- People without handicap placards parking in handicap spaces
- Handicap spaces become useless if an entrance is temporarily closed
- Cars parked in the blue hatched areas meant for wheelchair ramps and elevators that
come out of special-access vehicles
- Store management will not let the electric carts be taken out to the handicap
parking spaces
- Standing water, snow, or ice in handicap spaces
- Handicap spaces hidden behind historic buildings
- Handicap spaces in small clusters isolated from each other
- CURBS
- Curbs between handicap spaces and the store entrance
- A circuitous path to the curb cut ramps in the sidewalk
- No curb cuts between the public sidewalks and the business property
- Pedestrians in wheelchairs required to use vehicle entrances to get to the business
property
- Curbs too high to cross with a walker
- STAIRS
- Some businesses on upper floors have no access except by stairs
- Most historic buildings can't be altered to add ramps or elevators
- In areas where the water table is near the surface of the ground, buildings are built
on raised foundations and accessed by stairs
- Electric stairclimber chairs are often provided
- Wheelchairs that can't be folded cannot be taken to the isolated level
- Many apartments have no access except by stairs
- STEEP RAMPS
The current standard has a maximum slope of 4.76°.
A former standard had a maximum slope of 15°.
- A street or entrance driveway steeper than the standard
- An older property that was built to the older standard is allowed to remain as it is
- Workers not using trigonometry to set the angle of the ramp make a bad ramp
- Usually a ramp is not required to be installed until other renovations are to be done
- Historic buildings often are not required to be upgraded to full accessibility.
- SNOW, ICE, AND ICE MELTER
- Snow clogs the wheels of wheelchairs
- Ice on the pavement creates dangerous conditions
- Ice hidden under snow is a hidden hazard
- Some wheelchairs can get stuck on ice blocks with all wheels off the ground.
- Crystals and pellets from ice melters can jam smaller wheels
- NO PLACE TO REST
Remember that some people can't stand up for long periods.
- Stores used to provide chairs and benches for people to sit on and rest
- Most stores removed these when the COVID restrictions were enacted
- People who used to walk in the store using the chairs now require an electric cart
- ELECTRIC CART PROBLEMS
- Many stores do not have enough electric carts to handle the demand
- Many stores do not have any electric carts
- Often the electric carts do not get enough time to charge between uses
- There is often no place for a handicapped person to sit while waiting for a cart
- Too many stores will not allow the carts to be taken to cars in the parking lot to
get or leave people who can't walk at all
- Often some carts have bad batteries and cannot store enough charge for one customer
- People who cannot stand up can't get products placed out of reach of the cart seats.
- Often miscreants steal or damage the carts
- NARROW AISLES
- Some stores have aisles too narrow for a wheelchair
- Often the placement of advertising kiosks blocks passage of a wheelchair
- In some cases, a longer wheelchair can't make the turn from one aisle to another
- PRODUCTS OUT OF REACH
- Too many stores have products on shelves so high that a normal person cannot reach
them
- This is even worse for a person confined to a wheelchair
- Of course, no store employees are to be found when the handicapped shopper needs
one to reach something
- A grabber arm can pick up light objects, but not a 12-can case of pop.
- The customer with a grabber arm must show it does not belong to the store
- OTHER PROBLEMS
- Customers should realize that someone in an electric cart does NOT
need any special yielding by other customers.
- Just leave enough space for the electric cart to pass your cart.
- Only a manually propelled wheelchair needs any special
right-of-way.
- Many stores stop and question people carrying or wearing other medical devices
(e.g. heart monitors)
- Many employees question whether someone with no visible disability needs a handicap
parking space or an electric cart
- Many prosthetics set off metal detectors in security areas (e.g. a courthouse)
- Sometimes a car marked handicapped is shared by handicapped and non-handicapped
people.
- A non-handicapped person may park the car to pick up a handicapped person.
- A non-handicapped person may pick up a handicapped car to use it.
- The handicapped person the car is for might not be able to drive.