02-12-2018, 10:25 PM
(02-12-2018, 10:21 PM)jeffster Wrote:Elevators are expensive PITA(02-12-2018, 05:47 PM)Viewfromthe42 Wrote: Accessibility really seems like something we have chosen to ignore. Walk around UpTown and Downtown and have a look at how many buildings aren't accessible. They are historic and preserved, but definitely not accessible. It's unfortunate that we forget some of the things we are inadvertently preserving when we preserve "heritage" buildings, things like inaccessible spaces, or neighbourhoods created and zoned specifically to exclude non-whites/new immigrants.
When their is a major renovation done to a building the law states that it must become accessible. Older buildings in the cores aren't accessible, and will never be accessible, as long as major renovations don't take place.
I used to do work for this restaurant in Waterloo. They wanted to do some renovations to the place, but it required that the place become accessible, which is isn't for either employee's or customers. This restaurant is split level, with bathrooms on the basement, and main customer area upstairs and that was also where the kitchen was. The costs to make the restaurant properly accessible was way too expensive, would have required removal of a huge section of customer spaces and installation of an elevator. I thought with creative design it could have been done, but at the same time, I'm not writing the cheques.
Older buildings. and for example, a place to look at is Crabby Joes on King in Kitchener, were not designed for people with mobility issues.