To rate accessibility and services at your favorite restaurants, hotels, theaters, public buildings, equipment and more!
We hope to encourage more establishments to comply with the ADA.
So people won't have to jump through hoops just to go to the bathroom.
You will find it here in some form and if you dont let us know!
This is not my chair, but I have one the same made by the people who made these ones. They will go anywhere as they are a honest 4WD with a motor on each wheel. They don't like inclines much but gutters etc., are no hassle.
Mike Solan from Warrington strapped two CO2 fire extinguishers to his friend Andy Speights wheelchair to propel him across a hotel car park for a stag do stunt. laughing on soundtrack by mike dawbarn, the stag.
getting up from the floor to your chair, good for getting down to do things on the floor or incase you fall out of your chair forward this helps trust me i fall a lot
This is a cool 'sports electric wheelchair' weighing only 44kg or 103 lbs (including batteries), designed in Australia by Colin Johanson. It won the ABC TV "New Inventors" program "2006 Viewers Choice Award" and we are working on commercialisig it.
The video is worth the download to see the terrain that this amazing morphing electric wheelchair can negotiate, driven by Jonathan Jowers and filmed by Mark Duckworth, both of CATEA, Georgia Tech, Atlanta.
In the stretched outdooor mode it can even bounce up and down gutters. In the short indoor mode, it can negotiate really tight corridors and doorways. Check it out!
The Chamber of Commerce of Pismo Beach offers the free use of a wheelchair that makes it possible for those with physical challenges to enjoy the beach and ocean up close.
Understanding the true impact of handicap and disability regulations
It has been more than 14 years since the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, became law in the United States. The five- and 10-year time allowances to make existing facilities compliant have long passed. In many forward-thinking states, facilities servicing the public must be compliant regardless of the cost or disruption. Hungry trial lawyers partnering with advocates for the disabled have created a highly effective and profitable enterprise suing restaurant operators who fail to comply. In addition to the cost of the changes, such lawsuits also bring huge fines and legal costs that can drive a restaurant out of business. So what does someone building or renovating a foodservice facility need to know to make sure their facility will meet current and future requirements for disabled employee and guest access and accommodation? First of all, ADA is only one of a number of codes affecting workplace access for the handicapped. Many areas have state or local codes based on ANSI A117 that often are stricter than federal ADA guidelines. Accommodating persons with disabilities encompasses far more than just providing wheelchair access to patrons. Accessibility also is required for staff, managers and visitors, including building-code or health-department inspectors. Many owners and operators falsely assume that ADA guidelines affect only projects involving new construction or substantial remodeling. They offer their own interpretations of what ADA compliance means, assuming that it affects only new buildings and chains or that it doesn't affect the back-of-the-house "because a handicapped person couldn't work in a kitchen." Some forget that a disabled manager, chef, reservation operator or purchasing manager could, in fact, perform those duties if the workplace was made accessible. For this reason most new guidelines require handicap access to staff toilets, break rooms and back-of-house offices. Title III of the ADA requires that new construction and alterations of all commercial facilities comply with the ADA Accessibility Guidelines. Application of the guidelines is not open to interpretation and must be incorporated into any facility's design. The original ADA guidelines always required that existing public accommodations, including dining rooms or serving areas, remove architectural barriers where such removal is "readily achievable," which is based on two tests: (a) removal of the barrier must be "easily accomplishable without much difficulty," and (b) modifications can be accomplished without much expense. Contrary to some opinions, no specific dollar amounts are identified to define what "much expense" means, so it is understandable for the issue to be disputed and interpreted in court. Determining what is readily achievable includes analysis off (a) the nature and cost of modification; (b) the overall financial resources of the facility, the number of employees, and the impact on the facility operation; (c) the overall size of business; and (d) the type of operation and the physical separation of facilities. The "readily achievable" standard and its economic test in particular do not require that all barriers be removed at once. The obligation to remove barriers is ongoing, allowing a facility to use its capital improvement budget to remove barriers as funds become available. There was a general acceptance of a 10-year grace period that would allow facilities to plan and budget for changes over several years, as most foodservice and hospitality operations undertake or should undertake a renovation or update over a 10-year period anyway. Regardless, the grace period has come and gone, and the law today is firm on the need to provide accessibility. There is really no "grandfather" or other such escape clause. After 14 years, ignorance of the requirements is not an acceptable excuse for lack of compliance. Exterior and front-of-house guidelines for access are fairly clear to most operators. They need to provide wheelchair access to all areas a normal patron would want or need to visit, including the front entrance, the host or order counter, a main part of the dining room and the toilets. Toilet access is one of the most challenging areas for existing restaurants, because an ADA-compliant toilet requires almost twice the space of two mini conventional toilets. Adding two ADA-compliant toilets often requires removing an office, pushing into the kitchen or expanding the building. Accessing toilets by going down a staircase definitely is not ADA compliant, but if an operator doesn't have the space for two ADA-compliant toilets on the main dining level, some areas will allow a single unisex ADA-complaint toilet on that main level, with noncompliant toilets located on an upper or lower level. Florida and California are far more stringent in those requirements and usually require separate toilets. Handicap toilet compartments in larger toilets must include an ADA-compliant sink inside the toilet partition, which makes the overall size of the toilets much larger and amplifies the problem. Operators are far less informed on ADA requirements for accommodating disabilities that don't involve mobility issues. ADA guidelines targeted toward the visually impaired may impact the size of the time on menus and signs and the height of wall-mounted obstructions, like light fixtures, shelves and even artifacts that a person with limited sight might bump into. In addition, elevators must offer audible indication of floor stops. Guidelines for the hearing impaired require visual alarm systems, such as strobe lights flashing when a fire alarm goes off. The back-of-house areas, including the kitchen, offices and storage areas, are much more open to question. General interpretations of back-of-house requirements for ADA accessibility include: Wheelchair access: A line cook does not commonly work in a wheelchair, but a chef, manager or dietitian could require access to the entire kitchen if they happened to be wheelchair bound. Handicap or disabled building, fire and health inspectors need to access most areas of the kitchen and the food storage rooms. All aisles and work spaces must be a minimum of 36 inches wide, with a 60-inch turning radius at junctures and offices. Floor depressions, troughs, ramps and similar barriers must not encroach on this access. Most codes permit a reduction of, clear width to 32 inches thru doorways and other restrictions but only for a depth of 24 inches. In addition, 18 inches of clear access must be provided at door entrances to access the door, unless there is an automatic door operator. A handicapped chef or purchasing manager needs to access storage areas, including walk-in coolers, to check inventory. To assure wheelchair access into coolers, ramps into coolers can not exceed 2 inches in rise over 24 inches. Walk-in coolers with 4-inch high floors or ramps or with 30-inch doors are not compliant. It is also important to consider that providing 36-inch aisles, flush walk-in cooler floors and troughs out of the traffic pattern also benefits the materials flow on carts and racks through the kitchen work areas. The key point is that access through a kitchen and storage area includes management and inspectors; it doesn't necessarily mean that a handicapped person will be working as a cook or dishwasher. Accommodation: Many jurisdictions and federal guidelines for such publicly funded projects as schools require that any new or renovated foodservice facility should be able to accommodate handicapped persons for 10 percent of its work positions. A number of functions can be performed in a kitchen by the temporarily or permanently handicapped. Managers, purchasing agents and supervisors can be productive employees if offices, storerooms and traffic aisles are sized properly. Adjustable preparation tables and ADA-compliant sinks allow the disabled to work from benches or wheelchairs. Room-service ordering, cashiering and reservation/ reception functions also can be performed by the disabled if their work areas are accessible. Consider what would happen if one of your best managers or employees was injured in an accident and disabled for an extended period of time but still might be able to work- if your facilities provided both access and physical accommodation. Allowing that employee to continue to work could turn out to be one of the best investments you could make. Accommodation for the disabled is no longer optional. It's the law, and it is being enforced through both government agencies and private lawsuits. There is far less latitude for individual interpretation, and compliance is no longer something that affects only chains or new construction. All architects designing commercial buildings should be fully versed on local building-related requirements. In most metropolitan areas, an operator can find specialized consultants who can perform facilities audits and provide detailed interpretation of specific local requirements.
Eating out may save the labor of cooking, but it sometimes comes with its own hassles: Traffic, parking, long waits. For some restaurant customers there is an added set of difficulties; diners with limited mobility must choose from a smaller list of restaurants that are accessible to them. When I became the Post-Gazette restaurant critic last year, I took note of whether restaurants were accessible. I was quickly struck by how many restaurants in Pittsburgh that aren't partly or fully accessible. Richard Meritzer, the Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator for the city of Pittsburgh, said that when the ADA was signed into law in 1990, all businesses that weren't accessible at the time were "grandfathered" in. That meant that a restaurant did not have to accommodate people with disabilities unless it underwent a renovation in which improving accessibility wouldn't cost more than 20 percent of the total construction costs. In fact, even new restaurants that opened after 1990 didn't have to be accessible, so long as the building wasn't changing use (e.g. going from a retail shop to a restaurant). Given Pittsburgh's topography, it's no surprise that steps and multiple floors are common among Pittsburgh restaurants, the vast majority of which are housed in older buildings. Choosing from a limited list of restaurants is frustrating enough, but this list isn't even clearly delineated. There is no data base, public or private, that keeps track of which restaurants are accessible. Allan Sampson, who uses a wheelchair and frequently dines out in Pittsburgh and other cities, wrote in an e-mail, "If it is a restaurant I have not been to previously and do not know much about, I need to call the restaurant and ask detailed questions. And even then if I do not ask exactly the correct questions, I can sometimes be unintentionally misled." Accessibility is not always clear. For some people it may mean simply no stairs. But the place also must have doorways wide enough for wheelchairs, as well as doors that swing open in the right direction with a sufficient amount of clearance. Aisles within the restaurant must be wide enough to allow a wheelchair to smoothly pass through them. After I review a restaurant, I always call after my visit to check facts and ask about accessibility. Some managers aren't sure what I mean by the question. They might say, "Well, there are no stairs." Or, "Our restrooms are on the first floor, is that what you mean?" When someone calls a restaurant to inquire about accessibility, every person on the staff should be able to give a clear and correct answer. This answer should include all of the elements of accessibility. Will a side door need to be unlocked? Will a portable ramp need to be brought outside? Will someone in a wheelchair need to enter through the kitchen, or an "employees' only" area? The restaurants may be fulfilling the letter of the law, and it is certainly better than nothing, but it is not ideal. It is easy to see why some diners, such as Mr. Sampson, would prefer to avoid some restaurants. Tina Calabro, a Post-Gazette freelance writer who often writes about disability issues, said restaurant staffs also should be trained on how to treat customers with disabilities. Most people in wheelchairs can order for themselves. Servers should treat these customers just like any other customer. Money is the primary reason why more restaurants have not become accessible. Renovations are expensive, and restaurants usually operate on razor-thin profit margins. Starting in 1996, Del's Restaurant in Bloomfield has been undergoing a series of renovations that included becoming wheelchair accessible. Del's was able to secure a small neighborhood grant that helped cover the costs of making the dining room accessible, although the restrooms still aren't. They hope to resolve that in the future. Currently, at least to Richard Meritzer's knowledge, there are no grants available to help restaurants or other businesses become accessible. Diners, whether or not they require accessibility, can create a financial incentive of their own by choosing to support restaurants that are fully accessible. Restaurants that aren't accessible may be within the letter of the law, but it continues to strike me as odd that in a city with an aging (and shrinking) population, businesses don't make the extra effort to become accessible to all of their possible customers. Restaurant critic China Millman can be reached at cmillman@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1198.
