Ask Gary ADA

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.