[nabs-l] Pass the green dumpster, please: making your business handicap accessible

[Sarah Alawami]

I got this off of a friend of mine. This has some interesting stuff.

 

Take care and have a blessed day.

 

 

Pass the green dumpster, please: making your business handicap accessible
 
  By Eileen Feldman
  Wicked Local Somerville ,  Jul 30, 2009 @ 06:17 AM
 
  Somerville -
 
  This past Sunday, July 26, we marked the 19th anniversary of the Americans
  with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA of 1990 was modeled after the first
  major   piece of civil rights disability law, the Rehabilitation Act of
  1973.
 
  The ADA directs all local governments to provide readily usable programs 
  and
  opportunities to all; covers public transportation services; and directs 
  all
  public accommodations, such as restaurants, retail stores, hotels, movie
  theaters, private schools, convention centers, doctors' offices, homeless
  shelters,   transportation depots, zoos, funeral homes, day care centers,
  and recreation facilities to provide all programs in the most inclusively
  accessible manner
  possible, regardless of size or funding. It also sets out standards for
  accessible telephones, televisions and other communications technology.
 
  While government services, including subsidized housing, must provide all
  employment and program opportunities in a manner that is readily usable to
  everyone   regardless of costing issues, non-governmental public
  accommodations are directed to eliminate all barriers where "readily
  achievable."
 
  Recently, some friends suggested that the management of a local restaurant
  place a secure ramp over a three-inch step at the entrance. Management
  responded   as follows: "... I am happy to say that I have personally
  rectified the whole situation by placing a new plywood plank in our back
  entrance (by the kitchen,   down the alley, past the green dumpster, and
  around the pot holes) and have put up a sign as well as informed my staff 
  on
  how to direct those of the handicapped   persuasion to a segregated back
  entrance away from the public eye."
 
  I kid you not.
 
  Although we might chuckle with both outrage and sympathy for the 
  ineptitude
  exhibited by this particular management, such a discriminatory attitude is
  tacitly   revealed in many government programs. Here, cultural ignorance
  cannot be claimed as an excuse. Mobility-impaired applicants and customers
  should not have   to call ahead in order to enter locked, segregated back
  and side entrances or poorly maintained lifts and elevators. In addition,
  21st Century Americans
  with disabilities can rightfully expect that all architectural,
  communication and informational impediments to government-sponsored 
  housing,
  employment,
  economic, social and cultural opportunities have been identified, and
  transition planning is ongoing to successfully eliminate these barriers,
  step by  step. Our state and local governments should know how to model
  inclusive opportunity for all.
 
  In Somerville, which counted nearly 20 percent residents with disabilities
  in its 2000 Census, there are a majority of stores, restaurants, agencies
  and   establishments that can immediately enhance their services with a
  little awareness.
 
  Here are 10 examples of easily removable barriers:
 
  . One-step entrance: replace step with slip-resistant ramp.
  . Service counters too high: replace with counters between 28 and 34 
  inches
  high.
  . Hard-to-grip door hardware: replace with levers or loop handles.
  . Too-narrow entrance: install offset hinges to widen doorways to at least
  32 inches when fully open.
  . Too-high thresholds: bevel       all thresholds to be less than one-half
  inch high.
  . No inclusive parking: re-stripe parking lots to include van-accessible
  parking spaces.
  . Not level or smooth path to entrance: replace entryway gravel and brick
  materials with hardtop.
  . Impassable aisles to goods and services: rearrange aisles to be at least
  36 inches clear, and with cane-detectable edges under all shelves and
  displays.
 
  . Tripping hazards: use low-pile, tightly woven carpeting and securely
  attach along all edges.
  . No wayfinding to goods and services: provide signs and room 
  names/numbers
  in large print with high contrast, and include Braille signage wherever
  signage   is required.
 
 
  Even in this economy, financial incentives exist to bust those barriers
  once and for all.
 
  Small business can claim a Disabled Access Tax Credit of up to $5,000 to
  offset these costs for access - see IRS Code, Section 44.
 
  Larger businesses can claim up to $15,000 per year for expenses associated
  with the removal of architectural and transportation barriers, and for the
  provision   of accessible information and communications - see IRS Code,
  Section 190.
 
  You can call the IRS and ask about the ADA Tax Incentives for Businesses 
  at
  800-829-1040.
  Before the summer is out, why not accomplish at least one of these
  improvements? Let everyone in. When you put that welcome mat out for
  everyone, there's   no telling what riches may come.

Sarah Alawami

msn: chellist at hotmail.com

website: http://www.marrie.org

twitter: http://twitter.com/marrie1

klango: marrie