Those of us who use wheelchairs for mobility are sometimes confronted by a number of obstacles that make shopping very difficult.
Perhaps you've run into some of these situations:
aisles obstructed by merchandise; display racks that are too close together; no open accessible check-out aisle and/or failure to open a sufficient number of accessible check-out aisles; designation of the only accessible check-out aisle as limited to patrons buying a limited number of items;lack of adequate handicapped parking; and unavailability of handicapped restroom facilities, ramps or curbcuts.
Any of these situations can be frustrating but did you realize that they also constitute violations under the ADA?
Today I was at a local mall and found it impossible to navigate around several departments of a JC Penney store due to obstructed aisles and display racks that were so close together passage in a wheelchair was impossible from any angle.
So I spoke with store personnel who were uncooperative. At that point I determined that it was appropriate to take pictures of the areas, especially since I had noticed some access problems on previous trips to this store. I'll file a complaint with the Department of Justice.
It's important to enforce our rights under the ADA - not just for ourselves but for the next person who comes along in a wheelchair. If we don't take the time to do so, the same obstacles will be there the next time someone else needs access.
Click above for a link to ADA resources.
6 comments:
I'd love to hear about some of your experiences filing a complaint. We've never done it. Do you send in your pictures with the complaint? What kind of response to you get from the government? from the place of business?
Janet
Is there an Canadian equivilant I wonder because with "spring sales" racks stick in all available spaces I have found that most mall clothing stores simply cannot be entered..anywhere.
What I cannot understand is why my shopping experience is such that I seem to be the first manual wheelchair user the store has EVER seen - I mean I know that there aren't many youngish female manual wheelchair users in this capital city but surely I can't be the ONLY one.
But good point on the blog - I just wish I knew who I could submit complaints to - city council?
Elizabeth- In Canada you have the Charter of Rights and freedoms but go here to read about procedures:
http://www.ccdonline.ca/about-us/index.htm
Janet: I've filed online with the DOJ at the website I linked to - free of charge. You can send/attach pictures. (And if you want you can use their snail mail address.) Usually the government will look it over and send it for possible mediation with the business (your choice or not). Or you can go to court. I think people would be surprised at how easy it is to file although of course it does take time for it to come to fruition like many things in life!
I wasn't aware. Thanks, Ruth.
Janet
You'd think that businessfolk would be more aware. After all, they're good capitalists, and our money is as green and spends just as well as everybody else's!
One interesting thing I've noticed is that some ancient businesses in impossible century-old buildings will bend over backwards to do everything they possibly can, while modern large comglomerates in recently-built buildings or mall space could care less. I'm particularly thinking of a 130 year old department store here still in its original building --- lots of stairs everywhere, only the original manually-operated wooden freight elevator that doesn't even go to all the floors, etc., but they are much easier to be in that the new WalMart, because they care. The one level entrance is well-marked, they're eager to make sure there's an elevator operator available, and if you are shopping something kept in the basement or mezzanine where the elevator doesn't go, they will when needed haul the selections to you up or down the stairs. (It was interesting once when I was buying a lampshade, to have the clerk coming down the mezz. stairs with a stack of 12 shades in my size, so I had as much choice as everybody else)
But the "fully accessible" WalMart can't even manage to keep the main aisle clear!
Karen Marie, Some of my European friends (and those who have traveled there tell me that while the US is more advanced in architectural barrier removal, people do more over there than in the US to help with access. I ws thinking of this as I read your comment which is a really interesting observation.
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