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Stairs for wheelchairs


Subdeacon Joe

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Posted

Interesting. Wonder why they didn't put a button at the bottom so it could be operated without a second person.

Posted

Interesting; but all of that custom design , installation and maintenance - and you've only addressed one set of stairs - one barrier to independence. How about spending that capital on a universal solution, that can be repeated over and over with the same design, and works on just about every set of stairs?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rgpYsG4oWo

 

LL

Posted

Interesting; but all of that custom design , installation and maintenance - and you've only addressed one set of stairs - one barrier to independence. How about spending that capital on a universal solution, that can be repeated over and over with the same design, and works on just about every set of stairs?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rgpYsG4oWo

 

LL

 

Very nice.

Posted

As they taught us to reply in OCS, "Sir, that depends chiefly on the nature of the terrain."

I took care of a wheelchair client in-home and they had both ramp outside and a powered lift inside: the ramp running out into the front yard was not a difficulty but a ramp inside the house would have been an impossibility.

I will admit to the lady of the house being amused at coming home and finding the rascally lift stuck at half mast, and my legs sticking out from under it ... I was under there with a flashlight, a multi-tool and a sailor's vocabulary (which fortunately neither she nor the client heard) and I did get it fixed ... to the great relief of the client and his mother both!

Posted

Architectural barriers in public areas, especially in historic areas, are huge problems not easily addressed with ramps. Can you imagine ramps for buildings like the Senate, or your State House (if, like mine, it was built over 100 years ago, when it was thought to be grand to put it on top of 50-60 granite steps)? Or the access/egress stairs in places like Central Park or Boston Common? We've made a lot of progress, with "handicapped entrances" and ramps at curbs and similar renovations. But to give a wheelchair user the same freedom of movement as you or I, the best solutions are those that allow them to utilize the same means of access, rather than having to circle the block looking for a curb ramp or circle a building looking for an accessible entry. I was in three airports earlier this week, all of fairly recent vintage. Side-by-side in several locations were multiple escalators and stairways - but no alternative for wheelers. Too much change in height for ramps. Elevators were the only access - and they were often on the other side of the building from where most folks were moving between floors. If I were a wheeler, I'd appreciate a chair capable of ascending and descending.

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