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> Author should be thankful to not need the ADA compliance. It frustrates me how people use this line to shame anyone who questions the costs of ADA compliance

> Author should be thankful to not need the ADA compliance. It frustrates me how people use this line to shame anyone who questions the costs of ADA compliance. There’s a legitimate discussion as to whether it would be socially optimal for that money to be allocated elsewhere. $1.5M could go a long way towards education, community centers, internet infrastructure, or any other public project - and maybe it would go farther than improving wheelchair access on 0.32 miles of sidewalk in a low traffic residential area.

learnstats2 6y ago
What about the cost of not being ADA compliant, though? If there is no wheelchair access, how do you get those things to people in wheelchairs?
- colinmhayes 6y ago
  Cars? seems like that is the only real way to get around in this town anyway.
- austhrow743 6y ago
  There is wheelchair access. It's called roads. In a low traffic suburb like that there's no reason roads can't be multi use. In fact in all the low traffic suburbs I've lived in that's exactly how they're used. People walk on them, ride on them, kids play on them, I don't see many wheelchairs but tons of the electric scooter things used by both the disabled and elderly. Cancel the upgrade, send some of the money to wheelchair users so they can buy a nicer wheelchair, a flag for it, hell a new tv, whatever they want; and everyone would be better off.
  - unishark 6y ago
    Indeed. No one capable of locomotion is excluded here. When there's no sidewalk by a neighborhood street it is generally legal for pedestrians to walk in the street. Typically they are required to walk on the edge of the road facing traffic.
maerF0x0 6y ago
agreed. If there isnt a wheel chair bound person for 3 miles, maybe it's not worth having _that_ specific sidewalk upgraded first. Of course, there will come a day, but does it have to be this project specifically? The takeaway is that ADA compliance only has value when it's consumed and despite a specific rule accessibility is actually a spectrum that can be balanced in a case by case basis.

learnstats2 6y ago

What about the cost of not being ADA compliant, though? If there is no wheelchair access, how do you get those things to people in wheelchairs?

colinmhayes 6y ago
Cars? seems like that is the only real way to get around in this town anyway.
austhrow743 6y ago
There is wheelchair access. It's called roads. In a low traffic suburb like that there's no reason roads can't be multi use. In fact in all the low traffic suburbs I've lived in that's exactly how they're used. People walk on them, ride on them, kids play on them, I don't see many wheelchairs but tons of the electric scooter things used by both the disabled and elderly. Cancel the upgrade, send some of the money to wheelchair users so they can buy a nicer wheelchair, a flag for it, hell a new tv, whatever they want; and everyone would be better off.
- unishark 6y ago
  Indeed. No one capable of locomotion is excluded here. When there's no sidewalk by a neighborhood street it is generally legal for pedestrians to walk in the street. Typically they are required to walk on the edge of the road facing traffic.

maerF0x0 6y ago

agreed. If there isnt a wheel chair bound person for 3 miles, maybe it's not worth having _that_ specific sidewalk upgraded first. Of course, there will come a day, but does it have to be this project specifically? The takeaway is that ADA compliance only has value when it's consumed and despite a specific rule accessibility is actually a spectrum that can be balanced in a case by case basis.