Wheelchairs and ADA

[Sunshine 2]

Wherever I go, the entrance to the bathroom (not the stalls) has spring loaded doors. I cannot get into the bathroom without someone holding open the door, nor can I get out. ADA requires no more than 5 lb resistance. (I dont know why these doors have to be spring loaded).

They are everywhere.

Have you encountered this, or are you less wheelchair dependent

[stillstANNding]

I am not wheelchair dependent but have used a scooter at times but for fatigue and lack of endurance. I was able to just park in the hall and walk in.

in places that are serious about the ADA like the rehab hospital I am used to the buttons on the wall to open the door.

ANN

[agate]

The ADA seems to have a lot of loopholes, doesn't it? Places that say they are accessible often aren't very. Including the medical center where my primary care doctor and lab are. Their washrooms have those heavy doors that want to shut right away. I've often found those washroom doors in other places too.

In a wheelchair I can sometimes do a trick with one foot on the open door while I grab the doorframe with one hand and ease in slowly. Now and then someone comes along and sees this bit of acrobatics and helps by holding the door open but usually there's nobody around.

[Virginia]

I have encountered heavy doors, and when I am carrying things in my arms I have a hard time. I am not yet in a wheelchair, but my legs, body and arms are very weak. I usually try to use my body against heavy doors if they open in such a matter that I can.

[Earth Mother 2 Angels]

((((((Hugs to All)))))) ~

While I no longer contend with wheelchair accessibility, I do recall the frustrations of inaccessible public facilities. Someday, I may be in a wheelchair, and I don't want to deal with heavy bathroom doors.

So, I recommend "ye old squeaky wheel."

Here is the ADA website to file a complaint:

Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register...

Change won't happen, unless we make it happen.

Love & Light,

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Rose

*Virtual Hugs Are Germ-Free!


THANKS!

[Sunshine 2]

I do not want to file a complaint on this issue, if I did, it would apply to nearly all of the medical offices and facilities I go to. Rather, I have called the major medical center and cajoled them to fix this isitution and I told them it is not ADA compliant, and that there are people who make a living suing facilities that are non compliant even though the Suer is not disabled....

[Sunshine 2]

P.S.
What do you think is the purpose to have those types of spring loaded doors?

[agate]

P.S.
What do you think is the purpose to have those types of spring loaded doors?

Just guessing here but it may be because of fire codes. The rules on how fast a door closes are really strict because fire departments want to contain a fire by making sure all doors shut --and they have to shut within a certain amount of time as well.

For instance, in this building we don't have spring-loaded doors to our apartments, but the doors are expected to swing shut on their own. Heaven help you if you have something like a doormat or a draftguard in place and it prevents your door from closing on its own within a certain number of seconds. Inspectors come in every year and test these doors. They stand there with a timer and count the seconds.

The rule is so strict that it's almost impossible for some doors to pass the inspection. We're told to open a window a crack before these inspections because that will make our doors shut faster.

Fire departments have learned a lot about fires and how they spread and what materials ignite very fast. Fires are much trickier than they were many years ago when things were always made of conventional materials like wood. Now our furniture and everything else might be made of various chemicals or synthetic substances, and some of them go up in flames astonishingly fast.

It does seem as if there should be a work-around here so that wheelchair users don't have to wrestle bathrooms doors open!