Ask Gary ADA

In these hard economic times everyone is trying to think of ways to save money. One of the ways we can save money is to grow some of our own food. The home vegetable garden is not new, in fact it was very popular in World War II. In those days they were called victory gardens, a term that has become popular again today. When we think of a home garden we usually think of a patch of ground, that is turned over, enriched with compost, and fertilized, where we plant our seeds. This is still true, accept when we think of a wheelchair accessible garden.

A wheelchair accessible garden is going to take a little more preparation than the conventional garden. The conventional garden can be anywhere from a 10 ft. x 10 ft. plot to hundreds of square feet. It just depends on how much you want to grow. An accessible garden can be just as large, but it needs to broken down into 3 foot square raised plots. They could just as well be 3 ft. diameter circular raised plots. The plots are raised to allow them to be tended from a seated position. Being raised also makes it easy for anyone who has difficulty bending or stooping to tend to the garden. The small plot size also makes it convenient for separating crops into individual plots.

You can raise the beds anywhere from 18 inches to table top height. There are several different methods that can be used to raise your beds. You can construct platforms, for the beds to sit upon, using lumber, cement blocks, or even metal saw horses purchased from your local hardware store. The method I prefer to use, and the one I used in my own yard, is stackable retaining wall blocks. They just stack together without cement and lock together one to the other very securely. They are durable and long lasting. They are also visually pleasing to look at. Once the beds are created you simply fill them with bagged soil or your own compost. Then you can plant your seed or transplants and tend as usual.

This method can be adapted to all of the landscaping around a residence. The final requirement for accessibility is creating hard paths to and within the garden. This can be as simple as compressed sand and pea gravel or as elaborate as a brick or a concrete paver. Whatever method you choose the end result will be the same, an accessible garden that everyone can enjoy.

Most people do not pay much attention to the doors they pass through. They go through so many everyday. Big doors, small doors, it really does not matter much to them. A door is a door, unless it has to be accessible. To the disabled a door is not a door, it must be accessible for them to use it.

When you look at a door from a wheelchair, you have to pay attention to every door that you come. Not all doors are equal to that person. If it is to narrow they cannot pass. If it has a high threshold they cannot pass. If it has a door knob their hands cannot grasp they cannot pass. If it is to hard to open they cannot pass. If it opens the wrong way or there is not enough space for it to open they cannot pass.

So what does make a door accessible? First it must be 36 inches wide or more. It should have a lever type door knob, for individuals with limited use of their hands. They only need to hook their hand around the lever, push down, and pull to open the door. It should take eight pounds or less force to open the door. The threshold should be flat or what is known as a zero height threshold. And the door should have an automatic closure device. To simplify even further an automatic opening mechanism could be installed on the door. The access buttons for such a device need to be at the proper height for a wheelchair user to easily operate them.

When speaking of an accessible door, it does not apply only to entry doors. Any door that allows access to a space must meet the minimum requirements of an accessible door. Even an opening, without a door, must be 36 inches or more wide. Therefore in order for a dwelling or building to be accessible all doors must at least be 36 inches wide or more, have lever type door knob, and take eight pounds or less force to open.

I invite you ton try this little experiment the next time you are out. Look at every door a bit more carefully as you pass through it. Ask yourself, is this door accessible? The disabled do it everyday. The results will surprise you

For most of my early adult life I lived in apartments. Every one of these apartments claimed to be handicap accessible. They all proudly displayed the wheelchair symbol on their ads and signs. However when asked what made the apartment accessible the answer was pretty much the same. They would tell you it was near a handicap parking space and ramp or they would provide a handicap or reserve space in front of any ground floor unit and even provide a ramp. Except for two apartments I lived in that was all the accessible features you had. An since there are no standards that have to be met that was all the apartment owner had to provide and they really did not have to provide that. As far as I know there are no codes that an apartment complex must follow in order to display the handicap symbol in the ads or signs. Now it needs to be understood that you are allowed to modify an apartment so that it is accessible. But it is at your own expense and you must return the apartment to its original condition when you move out. Also apartment complexes built using government funds must provide as many ground floor accessible units as they have handicap parking spaces. However this not strictly enforced.

Now that we have talked about what an accessible apartment is and is not, let’s talk about what it should be. First barrier free access should be provided from where ever the handicap parking space is to the accessible unit. It is just as easy to make all approaches to all apartments barrier free. Accessible units should have zero thresholds and either automatic door openers or self closing entry doors. They would have an open floor plan. All entrances to rooms would be 3′-0” wide. The kitchen would also accessible with lower counters and knee space at the sink and cook top. There would tile or hardwood on the floors, not carpet. And of course the bathroom would have grab bars, a accessible shower or tub, the right height toilet, turnaround space, and knee space under the sink.

Now you might be asking yourself why these conditions don’t exist for the most part I really don’t know for sure, but I have been told by complex owners that it would be expensive to convert existing units to meet this requirement and also these units could only be rentable to the handicapped and if there were no handicapped to rent the units they would just sit empty. While I understand the first argument I cannot condone it as a good reason not to provide the units. As for the second excuse I feel if these units were provided there would be more than enough disabled individuals to keep them occupied. President Obama wants to provide communities that will allow the disabled to be mainstreamed into society rather than separated from it. I think if we are going to help the President accomplish this goal we can no longer suffer in silence. We must speak out now.