Is your building accessible? Accessibility as a moral rather than legal imperative
Only people with mobility limitations or people who have a loved one that suffer them really know what it is to live in a world full of architectural barriers. Our world has had and still has many of these barriers that affect permanently or just temporarily disabled people.
Fortunately, though slowly, national legislations, some of them promoted by the United Nations, are developed to guarantee that our cities are accessible to all of us without exception.
In Spain, for example, next December 4th is the deadline for owners to make reasonable adjustments in buildings with accessibility problems. From that date onwards, those owners that don’t provide necessary arrangements will be sanctioned.
As it happens at the individual level, some societies also seem to suffer from collective procrastination disorders and it seems that the deadline is confused with the date when they must start to apply such measure.
Beyond legally imperative dates, design for all people and universal accessibility are some of the principles we must apply on principles of solidarity.
The product design was universalized by the elevator industry many years ago. Access doors, car and landing operating panels, speech synthesizers, handrails, lightning… are designed under standards that allow disabled people (auditory, visual, physical…) to make optimal use of elevators.
However, with respect to the principle of universal accessibility, there are still many buildings that need solutions. There are many available solutions, including the typical ramp, the stairlift, the vertical platform or the classical elevator.
The implementation of these measures depends on the owners who, in some cases, resist having to pay the necessary costs. Such costs, except in the case of the ramp, can be high (7,000 to 100,000 euros), but they should be seen as investments, rather than expenses.
Thanks to these investments, residential buildings will see their value increased, commercial buildings will attract more customers thanks to their improved accessibility and public buildings must act according to their public nature.
We, elevator professionals, can accelerate accessibility by informing those maintenance customers that must adapt their entrances about it. Especially to those communities that don’t have a property manager, since in many cases it can be due to a lack of awareness.
Accessibility is one of those trends, such as environmental protection, that, in addition to raising the quality of life of many people, represents an excellent opportunity for all of us to gain something, both as a society and as an economy.
Let’s seize the opportunity, if possible, as a moral duty but, if it has to be, as a legal requirement.
