6 ms·

What does someone do if they twist their ankle badly and are on crutches for a month?

gambiting 7y ago
I see you're getting downvoted but I don't understand why - pretty much exactly this happened to me recently, I had severely reduced mobility in my leg for about 2 months, but I was told that I don't qualify for a blue badge. So while I luckily could drive(left leg affected, automatic car), this was one time in my life where I could actually benefit from being able to 1) get closer to where I need to be 2) park close to the entrance, but because it wasn't a permanent or long term disability I couldn't get the right permit.
Isinlor 7y ago
You could use "electric mobility scooter"; In Netherlands they are widely available for people with the need. https://www.google.com/search?q=electric+mobility+scooter+disabled+people&tbm=isch https://www.google.com/search?q=electric+mobility+scooter+di...
- _delirium 7y ago
  I saw these all the time when I lived in Copenhagen as well. NYC needs to make its subway be more accessible for this to be a proper solution, though. In Copenhagen it's easy to take your scooter on the Metro or S-Train for longer distances, and then drive in the bike-lane network for shorter distances. But many NYC subway stations are ancient and don't have accessible entrances, so you can't get a mobility scooter from the street onto the train and back up to the street.
  - afarrell 7y ago
    I’ve heard from a dwarven friend in SF that the SFBART elevators are also frequently used as toilets. Is this also true of the existing subway elevators?
- Thlom 7y ago
  We see the same thing in Oslo, Norway where the local government is trying to reduce car use in the city. The main concern is from people with disabilities who fear for their disability parking. I believe it is because the main mobility device they have been provided is a car, so they have been used to moving about with a car. That they can use electric mobility scooters, electric trikes and a number of other mobility devices and also public transportation like everyone else doesn't seem to cross any ones mind.
- humanrebar 7y ago
  It might work if NYC got better at hauling garbage, clearing snow, and ticketing people for blocking sidewalks in other ways (tables, signs, delivery trucks, etc.).
pjc50 7y ago
I know this sounds like a killer argument, and I don't know Manhattan, but in most of the cities I've been to you can't take a private car direct to a destination, park it nearby, and walk a short distance. The streets are already no-parking zones.
4ad 7y ago
The same thing they do in Europe, where cars are banned from almost every city center. We manage just fine.
- megablast 7y ago
  > where cars are banned from almost every city center I wish that was true.
- ekianjo 7y ago
  > cars are banned from almost every city center. In which utopia is this?
  - 4ad 7y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_car-free_places https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_car-free_places
    - ChrisLomont 7y ago
      Almost every one of those is a tiny part of a city on order if a few streets or part of a tiny city. Do you have anything substantial, say affecting on order of a million people? Or even an area of 100k people?
    - kyberias 7y ago
      That list is wildly inaccurate.
megablast 7y ago
What everyone who has done this and does not have a car does. Why do people pretend there are situations they can't live without a car, when most people in the world do it, and even a lot of people in your city do it.
- afarrell 7y ago
  I live without a car and prefer living without a car. I can easily do this because I’m an able bodied person in London. I’m a Software Engineer, so my wife can afford to take Uber and cabs to/from public transport in a pinch. The thing that I like about this particular change they implemented in manhattan is that it notably increases the bus-accessibility of the city. But if we’re widening the conversation to “just ban cars”, we really should look at what impact that would have on plumbers, drummers, and the elderly.
- cagenut 7y ago
  my theory is its rooted in this: https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/13/science/when-the-brain-says-don-t-get-too-close.html https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/13/science/when-the-brain-sa... people who spend an hour+ a day for years on end in their car have mentally expanded their subconscious definition of themselves, their corporal being, with the skin of the car. this is a necessary mental process to prevent them from clipping mailboxes and 'rubbing paint' with other drivers that they then can't really "turn off". its why road-rage reactions are on a par with being physically assaulted or threatened, and its why whenever we talk about shifting public space and roads from cars to anything else they feel personally threatened and attacked.
  - ed312 7y ago
    That is an absolutely brilliant explanation of the "personal attack" feeling of road rage. After commuting by foot/subway/bike/scooter for a few years its shocking to see the reactions of my own (educated, professional) friends when someone dares to walk through a sidewalk! Don't even get them started about "those damn bikers".
    - 7y ago
CydeWeys 7y ago
I live and work in Manhattan and I broke my ankle in a bike accident for about 4 years ago, and I was hobbling around on crutches for about two months in total before I could start (gingerly) biking again. I've never owned a car here, so I made it work. Fortunately there's buses, and buses are quite accessible. I don't really understand your question? People who live here generally don't own cars anyway, so what alternative besides public transportation exactly are you expecting? Keep in mind that traffic is so congested during commuting hours that the subway is typically faster, and also, two taxi/Lyft rides per day is quite expensive and beyond the reach of most people. It is true that the MTA needs to do a better job of retrofitting elevators onto the stations that don't have them yet.

I see you're getting downvoted but I don't understand why - pretty much exactly this happened to me recently, I had severely reduced mobility in my leg for about 2 months, but I was told that I don't qualify for a blue badge. So while I luckily could drive(left leg affected, automatic car), this was one time in my life where I could actually benefit from being able to 1) get closer to where I need to be 2) park close to the entrance, but because it wasn't a permanent or long term disability I couldn't get the right permit.

Isinlor 7y ago

You could use "electric mobility scooter"; In Netherlands they are widely available for people with the need. https://www.google.com/search?q=electric+mobility+scooter+disabled+people&tbm=isch https://www.google.com/search?q=electric+mobility+scooter+di...

_delirium 7y ago
I saw these all the time when I lived in Copenhagen as well. NYC needs to make its subway be more accessible for this to be a proper solution, though. In Copenhagen it's easy to take your scooter on the Metro or S-Train for longer distances, and then drive in the bike-lane network for shorter distances. But many NYC subway stations are ancient and don't have accessible entrances, so you can't get a mobility scooter from the street onto the train and back up to the street.
- afarrell 7y ago
  I’ve heard from a dwarven friend in SF that the SFBART elevators are also frequently used as toilets. Is this also true of the existing subway elevators?
Thlom 7y ago
We see the same thing in Oslo, Norway where the local government is trying to reduce car use in the city. The main concern is from people with disabilities who fear for their disability parking. I believe it is because the main mobility device they have been provided is a car, so they have been used to moving about with a car. That they can use electric mobility scooters, electric trikes and a number of other mobility devices and also public transportation like everyone else doesn't seem to cross any ones mind.
humanrebar 7y ago
It might work if NYC got better at hauling garbage, clearing snow, and ticketing people for blocking sidewalks in other ways (tables, signs, delivery trucks, etc.).

pjc50 7y ago

I know this sounds like a killer argument, and I don't know Manhattan, but in most of the cities I've been to you can't take a private car direct to a destination, park it nearby, and walk a short distance. The streets are already no-parking zones.

4ad 7y ago

The same thing they do in Europe, where cars are banned from almost every city center. We manage just fine.

megablast 7y ago
> where cars are banned from almost every city center I wish that was true.
ekianjo 7y ago
> cars are banned from almost every city center. In which utopia is this?
- 4ad 7y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_car-free_places https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_car-free_places
  - ChrisLomont 7y ago
    Almost every one of those is a tiny part of a city on order if a few streets or part of a tiny city. Do you have anything substantial, say affecting on order of a million people? Or even an area of 100k people?
  - kyberias 7y ago
    That list is wildly inaccurate.

megablast 7y ago

What everyone who has done this and does not have a car does. Why do people pretend there are situations they can't live without a car, when most people in the world do it, and even a lot of people in your city do it.

afarrell 7y ago
I live without a car and prefer living without a car. I can easily do this because I’m an able bodied person in London. I’m a Software Engineer, so my wife can afford to take Uber and cabs to/from public transport in a pinch. The thing that I like about this particular change they implemented in manhattan is that it notably increases the bus-accessibility of the city. But if we’re widening the conversation to “just ban cars”, we really should look at what impact that would have on plumbers, drummers, and the elderly.
cagenut 7y ago
my theory is its rooted in this: https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/13/science/when-the-brain-says-don-t-get-too-close.html https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/13/science/when-the-brain-sa... people who spend an hour+ a day for years on end in their car have mentally expanded their subconscious definition of themselves, their corporal being, with the skin of the car. this is a necessary mental process to prevent them from clipping mailboxes and 'rubbing paint' with other drivers that they then can't really "turn off". its why road-rage reactions are on a par with being physically assaulted or threatened, and its why whenever we talk about shifting public space and roads from cars to anything else they feel personally threatened and attacked.
- ed312 7y ago
  That is an absolutely brilliant explanation of the "personal attack" feeling of road rage. After commuting by foot/subway/bike/scooter for a few years its shocking to see the reactions of my own (educated, professional) friends when someone dares to walk through a sidewalk! Don't even get them started about "those damn bikers".
  - 7y ago

CydeWeys 7y ago

I live and work in Manhattan and I broke my ankle in a bike accident for about 4 years ago, and I was hobbling around on crutches for about two months in total before I could start (gingerly) biking again. I've never owned a car here, so I made it work. Fortunately there's buses, and buses are quite accessible. I don't really understand your question? People who live here generally don't own cars anyway, so what alternative besides public transportation exactly are you expecting? Keep in mind that traffic is so congested during commuting hours that the subway is typically faster, and also, two taxi/Lyft rides per day is quite expensive and beyond the reach of most people. It is true that the MTA needs to do a better job of retrofitting elevators onto the stations that don't have them yet.