Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Wheelchair Accessibility

[Dahako (Dahako]

Hi all -

On Jane O'Brien's comment:
"I visited the new Eastern Village Community in Silver Spring, MD last 
weekend, which has many units with lofts--and spiral staircases within them. 
Those 
kind of staircases are SO difficult to negotiate--and impossible for me when I 
am carrying anything."

I think Jane is right about the difficulty of living on one of our loft units 
if you had a mobility impairment. Just a note - - the loft units all have an 
exterior door on each level.  The exterior door opens onto a balcony that 
connects with the hall to the elevators.  So, both levels of a loft unit are 
"visitable" in the sense Ann Zabaldo mentioned. 

My unit, which was created from the old boiler room (our building is a gut 
rehabilitation job on an old commercial building), is the only unit with two 
levels that requires a visitor to negotiate steps (5) to get from the front 
door 
to the great room. We tweaked the unit design (stair width and closet 
location) so that we can add a small stair lift or elevator later, if need be.  
For 
now, if I have a guest who cannot negotiate the stairs, we will have to 
socialize in the commonhouse (which is just the other side of my front door).

Jessie Handforth Kome
Eastern Village Cohousing
Silver Spring, Maryland
"Where we are in the "bring your own chair, table, plate, and silverware" 
stage of common meals, but 50+ people still showed up for the last one."