One of the things they did during the “downtown revitalization” which involved ripping out half of Franklin Street was install crosswalks and sidewalks which are supposed to be more wheelchair friendly, along with textured material at street corners and driveways to alert the blind to changes in elevation (and the fact that they are about to walk out into the street). I happen to think that these modifications are awesome, because I am all for making spaces more friendly to the disabled.

However, it is sort of funny that while people in wheelchairs can now navigate Franklin Street, they still can’t enter a surprising number of the businesses on the street. In the rare cases of businesses which a wheelchair can get into, the stores themselves are usually not very wheelchair accessible (one notable exception to this is Racines, which has a very clear, open floorplan which makes it pretty easy to navigate in a wheelchair, although some of the corners of the store are a bit tight).A friend on mine in a wheelchair has often pointed this problem out.

“It’s one thing to be able to get into the store,” she says, “but usually I get inside and then can’t move, because the aisles are insanely narrow and cluttered with crap. So either I can’t fit down the aisle, or I can just squeeze in, but I am terrified of knocking stuff down, and most of the stuff is displayed out of reach, so I have to call a rude, surly employee over and beg them to get things for me. That’s why I shop online.”

When I was at the Botanical Gardens on Saturday, I found myself thinking about this issue, because I noted that wheelchair users really wouldn’t be able to see most of the gardens. And it really made me wonder how it is that almost 20 years after the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act, many businesses are still not friendly to the disabled.

Look, this isn’t a politically correct thing. This is a cold, hard business concern. Back in my days as a retail whore, I made a conscious effort to recommend businesses which are handicapped accessible, not only to parties with obviously disabled members, but to everyone, because I think that these businesses demonstrate a genuine desire to reach out to customers. I also find that the staff at places like that tend to be more friendly, patient, understanding, and helpful, and those are all traits which I feel are worthy of promotion.

Especially since everyone here is all like “rah rah tourism!” It amuses me that business owners apparently think it is perfectly acceptable to write off the elderly and disabled as potential revenue sources. Especially since we have a growing population of elderly in this country, and we’ve got a fair number of disabled veterans returning from Iraq. Thanks for serving, hope you didn’t want to be able to buy underwear!

By excluding the handicapped from their businesses, people miss out on a lot of potential sales, and they frustrate a huge segment of potential customers. If you have stairs at your doorway instead of a ramp, right there you’re cutting customers off. And disabled people are just as capable as complaining about bad service to their friends as the “abled” are. When a friend of mine who was walking on crutches for a few weeks got rude service at a coffeehouse in San Francisco, I stopped going there. When a blind friend mentioned the generous, helpful service she got at another coffeehouse, I made a point of going there, just like I would when anyone gave me a good recommendation for an establishment.

I think that disabled activists are sometimes less vocal than activists for other groups who find themselves marginalized. You don’t see businesses with “no colored” signs on their doors anymore, and if you did, you would probably make a furious complaint to the business owner, town hall, and anyone else who would listen. Yet, you think nothing of walking up a flight of stairs which would be insurmountable to someone in a wheelchair or someone on crutches.

A lot of strides have been made for disabled rights in this country, and there is a growing idea that making accommodations isn’t just legally obligated, it’s also good business, and it’s just plain polite. Apparently that idea hasn’t reached Fort Bragg yet, which is a great pity.