Text 407, 103 rader
Skriven 2006-10-10 21:26:18 av Ardith Hinton (1:153/716.0)
    Kommentar till text 392 av James Bradley (1:134/77.0)
Ärende: Fair Access
===================
Hi, James!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

AH>  Or by asking "Why don't you take a bus, use HandyDart,
AH>  etc."... [do they really want to know?  Probably not].

JB>  If they had to ask, they couldn't 'afford' the answer.


          I'd tell them far more than they expected to hear about public
transit
... and their eyes would probably glaze over, to say the least!  There are a
few exceptions.  But with most people it would be a complete waste of effort.



JB>  The fact that there are designated spots, attest
JB>  that a so-called compassionate society has deemed
JB>  them necessary, and a medical doctor has seen you
JB>  as significantly in need of that 'convenience'.


          Yes, and as it is the required number of spots is less than the
number of vehicles which might actually need them.  If you take into account
that there could be more than one person riding in any particular vehicle it's
erroneous to assume, IMHO, that the proportion of vehicles containing folks
with disabilities is the same as the proportion of these folks in the
population at large....  :-)



JB>  Why should anyone have to prove again, that an accesible
JB>  parking location is a need? The organizers had to hear
JB>  what their little oversight meant to one carload,


          In addition to the carload directly behind us... they were turned
away too.  We sent e-mail to the organizers a month ago, but received no
answer.  The flunkies shrug & say "I don't make the rules!" as if they think it
lets them off the hook.  However, it tells me they know they're doing something
wrong....  :-/



JB>  but more so, eight carloads of the meek that couldn't
JB>  muster to give them a piece of their mind. This sounds
JB>  not like eight times an a-hole parking where they are
JB>  not authorised, but an annex of a 'convenience'.


          Yeah.  They'll provide appropriate parking spaces, as long as we
don't want them when there's a special event on & other folks might want
them....  ;-)



JB>  Ask them what if, this was a hospital parking lot.
JB>  Would it be equally tolerated to save the handicapped
JB>  stalls for delivery of equipment or supplies?


          In my experience real hospitals usually have loading zones, spaces
for emergency vehicles, and spaces marked with the wheelchair symbol.  That's
one of the indicators, for us, as to what level of care a particular place
offers.  The "retirement lifestyle community" usually has a fire zone & a
parking lot for the residents but little or no parking for visitors
(handicapped or otherwise).  The idea that some folks can't walk very well is
swept under the carpet.  I've had a few conversations with residents of the
latter who are unhappy because they feel stuck.  If they express any
dissatisfaction, they might be kicked out.  Being in hospital isn't always much
of a choice.  When we have a choice, we can vote with our wallets & take our
money elsewhere... as we did in this case.  But we may be outvoted by others
whose business is considered to be more profitable... (sigh).



JB>  Now, when I say "a four hour nap," everyone - so far
JB>  - has a chuckle about it. The four-hour nap is a method
JB>  to avoid the emergency ward.


          Glad to hear you know when you need to take a rest....  :-)



JB>  a simple oversight from another, cost me yet another
JB>  sum of cash. $15 isn't about to send me to the poor-
JB>  house, but $15 x 15 times, and the two times I would
JB>  have moved my investments to another account; but the
JB>  three days I spent in recovery ended after the markets
JB>  took the turn I was trying to avoid.


          Yes, these may seem like small things when they're considered one at
a time.  But the PNE experience together with the number of other times we've
been informed some activity was wheelchair accessible although it wasn't adds
up to a lot of unnecessary mileage (and wear & tear) on us & on the family
chariot.  :-/




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
 * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)