It’s nice when people try to make things accessible to people with various disabilities… but frustrating when they come so close, and yet fail to fully achieve their goal.
Case in point.
There is only one “D-Permit” (Disabled parking) space in the vicinity of my building. I know at least one person who works in my building who cannot ever arrive early enough to get that spot and usually has to park several blocks away. For someone with limited mobility and health concerns (not least of which is an enlarged heart), the hike takes a significant physical toll on her. However, after months of talking to the Parking folks and the Accessibility office folks, no one seemed inclined to take action. I got involved due to my role in the UT Staff Council, and the issue has been researched within our organization; I also raised it with people in different offices. Finally the person who brought it to my attention wrote an angry letter to several administrators, and suddenly there was action.
Well, sort of. They removed two University vehicle spaces, and added one D space and one new loading zone space (which are routinely filled with contractors rather than true delivery vehicles). They left intact the two motorcycle spaces.
So after at least six months of effort, we managed to get them to designate one more space for 5 buildings full of faculty, staff, and students. For a total of TWO.
While it’s great to see the administration listened to our concerns, they really didn’t go far enough. It’s better, but still woefully insufficient. So, sadly, the struggle will continue.
So why am I writing about parking spaces in a blog that’s about web design? I did so because it illustrates how difficult the struggles actually are. As difficult as it is to get a new sign on a parking space, it can be even more difficult to get a company or program redesign a website (or even just modify it) to make it accessible. And until people pay attention and try to follow the spirit of accessible web design (or parking allocation), people will struggle needlessly to participate in what the rest of us take for granted.
