Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Required handicap access to 2nd floor/elevator

[Matthew Whiting (mewhiting]

This is an issue many feel passionate about, so I'll make my uninformed
comment brief.  I had a great friend in college who was essentially wheel
chair bound.  She still came up to our upstairs apartment all the time,
though she had to leave her wheel chair below and inch up the stairs.  We'd
often get the wheel chair for her and help her up, but often we'd just have
a knock at the door, with Elizabeth there.  We've kept in touch and she's
visited many times, always having to navigate stairs.  Is it the best
situation for her not to have elevators everywhere - no - but she makes the
best of the situations she's in.  It makes sense to design buildings for
accessiblity, but not everything can be accessible to everyone.  It just
doesn't make money sense to do so.  Design in accessiblity where the
community will get the biggest bang for their buck.  If you put in elevators
everywhere you'll "descriminate" against those that now can't afford to live
in the community.  Life is full of trade-offs.

-Matt Whiting
Utah Valley Commons - forming
Provo, Utah