ACCESSIBILITY
NEW! Greater Kalamazoo Accessible Dining Guide. This graphical and easy to read guide rates a number of local restaurants in a variety of areas related to accessability.
GET INVOLVED!
Disability Network staff and volunteers spend a great deal of time on improving the accessibility of our communitites. YOU can be involved as well!
- We have two all-volunteer Access Teams that are working on projects in Battle Creek & Kalamazoo County that improve accessiblity for people with disabilities in our communities and educate businesses and community leaders about barriers to full inclusion that still exist.
- We have published a Guide to Accessible Restaurants in Kalamazoo.
- Our ADA Coordinator responds directly to complaints about accessibility and provides information and support to correct problems that exist.
- We have created a training for asphalt & striping companies about the correct way to STRIPE PARKING LOTS, since we find the majority of parking lots are improperly stiped and out of compliance with the law.
- We provide ADA Compliance Audits for businesses, governmental entities, and non-profit organizations. Our philosophy is one of partnership and technical assistance. We won't beat you up if you're not in compliance; we'll help you make a plan to achieve compliance and understand the benefits of creating a fully inclusive business or work environment
- Have a question about accessibility? Our ADA Coordinator welcomes your call! You can reach Paul Ecklund at pecklund@drccil.org or (269) 345-1516 x 62.
Links dealing with accessibility issues:
Understanding Accessibility
Accessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which a system is usable by as many people as possible without modification. It is not to be confused with usability which is used to describe how easily a thing can be used by any type of user. One meaning of accessibility specifically focuses on people with disabilities and their use of assistive devices such as screen-reading web browsers or wheelchairs. Other meanings are discussed below.
Accessibility is strongly related to universal design. This is about making things accessible to all people (whether they have a disability or not). However, products marketed as having benefited from a Universal Design process are often actually the same devices customized specifically for use by people with disabilities. It is rare to find a Universally Designed product at the mass-market level that is used mostly by non-disabled people; Oxo Good Grips housewares are continually held up as an example.
The disability rights movement advocates equal access to social, political and economic life which includes not only physical access but access to the same tools, organisations and facilities which we all pay for.
Accessibility is about giving equal access to everyone.
While it is often used to describe facilities or amenities to assist people with disabilities, as in "wheelchair accessible", the term can extend to Braille signage, wheelchair ramps, audio signals at pedestrian crossings, walkway contours, website design, and so on.
Accessibility Legislation from around the World:
In the UK, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 has numerous provisions for accessibility.
In the US, under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, new public and private business construction generally must be accessible. Existing private businesses are required to increase the accessibility of their facilities when making any other renovations in proportion to the cost of the other renovations.
The U.S. Access Board is "A Federal Agency Committed to Accessible Design for People with Disabilities." Many states in the US have their own disability laws.
In Ontario, Canada, the Ontarians with Disabilities Act of 2001 is meant to "improve the identification, removal and prevention of barriers faced by persons with disabilities..."