I’d agree with this kind of response, if the people who raised them actually gave a fuck about disabled people. But they don’t - they only use it as an excuse to not improve something. It’s always a blocker. Never to suggest changes that actually benefit disabled people like more disabled parks, better and wider pedestrian spaces, smoother transitions between grades, more ramps in places without them.
But it’s never that. It’s just another thinly veiled “muh car park”.
I understand your point of view but fwiw, this isn’t an excuse and I do care about disabled people.
I myself am disabled with mobility challenges. My wheelchair is very rickety and fragile because I can’t afford a decent one or a power assist (most people don’t know this but in New Zealand, people disabled by serious illness are generally not eligible for disability funding - so if you are not mobile, you don’t get mobility aids, you are just… left to rot, which is what I was talking about in the last comment).
I also have to lie down a lot if I do go anywhere, and I can suddenly collapse or need medication or warm clothing, so my wish list for public spaces is going to be a bit different to the needs of a healthy disabled person with independent propulsion, which is who most people think of when they list the kind of things you listed.
I don’t expect society to cater to my kind of disability. But I’m only human, and you possibly have no idea what a huge boost it is to me, being semi house bound, if I get to go to a shop or an event. My town took away most of the disability parking around its main street when it made it pedestrian friendly, which is why I said it matters how it is done.
Before I got sick I was never a “car person”, I didn’t even own one - just used public transport and walked to work every day. From an environmental perspective it’s quite mortifying that I am all “but muh car park” and need a car. My only consolation is that being this disabled, my carbon footprint is pretty small by western standards.😔
I’d agree with this kind of response, if the people who raised them actually gave a fuck about disabled people. But they don’t - they only use it as an excuse to not improve something. It’s always a blocker. Never to suggest changes that actually benefit disabled people like more disabled parks, better and wider pedestrian spaces, smoother transitions between grades, more ramps in places without them.
But it’s never that. It’s just another thinly veiled “muh car park”.
I understand your point of view but fwiw, this isn’t an excuse and I do care about disabled people.
I myself am disabled with mobility challenges. My wheelchair is very rickety and fragile because I can’t afford a decent one or a power assist (most people don’t know this but in New Zealand, people disabled by serious illness are generally not eligible for disability funding - so if you are not mobile, you don’t get mobility aids, you are just… left to rot, which is what I was talking about in the last comment).
I also have to lie down a lot if I do go anywhere, and I can suddenly collapse or need medication or warm clothing, so my wish list for public spaces is going to be a bit different to the needs of a healthy disabled person with independent propulsion, which is who most people think of when they list the kind of things you listed.
I don’t expect society to cater to my kind of disability. But I’m only human, and you possibly have no idea what a huge boost it is to me, being semi house bound, if I get to go to a shop or an event. My town took away most of the disability parking around its main street when it made it pedestrian friendly, which is why I said it matters how it is done.
Before I got sick I was never a “car person”, I didn’t even own one - just used public transport and walked to work every day. From an environmental perspective it’s quite mortifying that I am all “but muh car park” and need a car. My only consolation is that being this disabled, my carbon footprint is pretty small by western standards.😔