By Vickie Beck of The Tampa Tribune CLEARWATER - Disability could be described as a constant battle with logistics. Where you go can be settled by the width of a doorway or the incline of a ramp - if there is one. Both my husband, Karl, and I use wheelchairs. Some days we just don't want to struggle with the inaccessible gas stations, bagel shop, grocery store and restaurants in our neighborhood. It's not just us. Many people with disabilities find that architectural and attitudinal barriers still exist, despite the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act. According to the U.S. Census, 2 percent of working-age Americans 15 to 64, or 529,000 people, use wheelchairs. This doesn't count the many older people who do or people with other mobility problems. Accessibility laws are as much about quality of life as they are about civil rights, justice and inclusion. The specifics - sizes, widths, grades, heights - were established so that people with disabilities could take part in activities more independently. The 1994 Harris Survey of Americans With Disabilities, commissioned by the National Organization on Disability, indicates that people with disabilities are considerably less likely than able-bodied people to socialize with friends or go to grocery stores, restaurants, theaters and sports events. ``With few exceptions, the participation gap is not closing,'' the survey states. Just down the road from us are two gas stations. One has a ramp in the back, but the fuel pumps are in the front. The other has no ramp. One day Karl filled up but couldn't get inside to pay the bill. He just sat there waving a $10 bill until the cashier finally came out. We haven't gone back. When our son plays at the Dunedin soccer fields, I rarely go. If he's playing on the top field, there is no way to push up the hill. The accessible restrooms closest to the Brandon soccer fields are by the baseball field. One of the basketball gyms where our son plays regularly has a 3-inch step at the entrance. Karl can force his wheelchair over it, but I can't jump curbs. And there is always the headache of parking. For example, it would seem only logical that a doctor's office or clinic might need more than the legally required number of spaces up front. But I have missed appointments because I was not well enough to use a distant space. Parking way back in the lot can be dangerous. Drivers who don't see you might run you over. A lot of disabled spaces are placed so that you have to cross traffic to get to the buildings. Wheelchairs generally don't move too fast, and sometimes drivers seem to be bearing down on you. You also can find bad drivers behind grocery carts. Karl, who weighs more than 200 pounds, needs a foot or more to stop. Yet people push their carts out in front of him all the time. I have been disabled my entire life. Up until two months ago, I could get around on crutches. Now, from a wheelchair, even a power-driven one, some things are much harder, even at home. I have banged, scraped and gouged every doorway in my house. Lately, like those in the Harris survey, I have stuck pretty close to home. I did venture to a mall and found I could go much farther and visit many more stores than I ever could on crutches. Since my chair is fairly narrow, I could even get around many clothing racks. Using a wheelchair can make people feel short, small and insignificant. For all practical purposes, I'm 15 inches shorter, and life has a different perspective. At the mall, I felt as small as a child, especially at checkout and serving counters. The disabilities act requires counters to be no more than 34 inches. But I am 51 inches tall when seated in my wheelchair, and I had difficulty at most counters. At least people opened doors for me. I haven't figured out how to pull open a door and keep it open while steering my chair through with my one functioning hand. People with manual chairs must push them with one hand and make them go straight, while opening the door with the other hand. Automatic doors would make life easier. Karl can go almost anywhere in his chair. But then, he has advantages: 30 years' experience, an extra 18 inches of height, tremendous upper body strength and little fear of ramps or lifts. Although ramps are meant to make access easier, using them requires skill, experience and confidence - all of which I lack. I mentally pictured the long ramp at my dentist's office and canceled the appointment. Ramps are dangerous if they are too steep or too long or they meet the doorway so that the wheelchair is still on an incline while the person is trying to open the door. A proper ramp has a foot of length for every inch of rise. Some end up very long, and they take stamina to climb. Karl has assured me that it takes a couple years to learn to maneuver. And there are still times he fears going down ramps, lest he fall over. Recently, he confronted one with a 45-degree angle, right up to the door. Florida building codes require every parking lot to have at least one disabled space and a ramp or curb cut near a commercial structure's main entrance. Owners and tenants of existing structures are supposed to be making an ongoing, reasonable effort to accommodate people with disabilities. But many aren't. Part of the problem is that the trigger point for an inspection is a building permit. Therefore, most existing structures are not inspected for compliance with accessibility laws unless they get renovated or remodeled. ``For existing buildings, there is no easy solution,'' says Victor Chodora, Clearwater's assistant director of central permitting. ``They are covered by the , [Americans With Disabilities Act], which is enforced by the Department of Justice. And the Department of Justice is looking for really big problems. ``Still, anyone who feels they are impeded or discriminated against should contact the department.'' Brand-new buildings are a different story. Karl and I frequent the Walgreens drugstore in our area because of its accessibility. We can go down the wide aisles side by side, without being in anyone's way. The checkout lanes and counters are easy to use, and I don't have to stretch way up to deliver our purchases to be tallied. It's a little difficult to reach the higher shelves (there is no maximum height limit under the laws). Still, the store is a welcome relief.
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