There are many, many buildings in every town that are inaccessible. The vast majority claim to be accessible but they only meet the bare minimum of ADA standards.
The vast majority of the stores, shops and restaurants in my town of 8,500 aren't accessible in any way, and don't seem to care if this causes them to lose business. The majority of establishments in most small towns are this way and don't seem to be in any hurry to meet the accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
I didn't ever pay much attention to the inaccessibility in my town or give it much thought until about seven mnths ago. I could just send my mother, my boyfriend or my PCA into that particular store to get me what I needed.
Then I got engaged. Suddenly, I found myself facing dress shops, florists, stationery atores and photography studios that I couldn't get in to. And as any bride or bride-to-be out there can tell you, these are parts of the wedding plannning process that you definitely want to be involved in. I've managed to get around all these obstacles and am now trying to figure out a way to get around the biggest of all: The courthouse where I need to get my marriage license is totally inaccessible.
i am currently drafting a letter to send to the new mayor of this town to propose that he and other city officials to spend a day, or even a few hours, in a wheelchair trying to navigate the streets of this city and experience firsthand the broken sidewalks, the 6" "curb cuts" and and sidewalks so narrow that you have to drive your chair down the street. My feeling is that if they experience it for themselves, they might start to change things.
How accessible or inaccessible is your town and what are you trying to do about it?
