My friend Contrarian challenged me to get serious about the economics of accessibility.
I'm just a wheelchair user, so I tend to think about accessibility in terms of ramps and washrooms. Let's make some informed estimates.
I like restaurants, but many are in inaccessible buildings. They've been restaurants for a long time, so under the provincial building code, they're grandfathered as to inaccessibility. What would it cost to make them accessible, would there be any benefits and what would be a good way to make it happen? Here are some numbers:
According to Restaurants Canada, 60.6% of Canadians eat at a restaurant once a week or more.
The population of Nova Scotia is 940,592
The Disabled Persons Commission says 16% of Nova Scotians have a mobility disability (2006 data)
and 26.9% of disabilities are moderate.
| Nova Scotians | 940,592 |
| 16% Mobility disability | 150,495 |
| 26.9% moderate | 40,483 |
| 60.6% dine out at least once a week | 24,533 |
| Annual restaurant visits | 1,275,703 |
The subjective variable here is severity of disability. I can't find a good description, but here's my interpretation of the StatsCan categories:
| Severity of disability | Likelihood of dining out |
| mild | Probably could go to any restaurant, though it might be a nuisance |
| moderate | Probably can't do steps and needs some washroom amenities, but would love to dine out |
| severe | Might go to a restaurant, but probably would rather not |
| very severe | Wouldn't go |
This is indisputably correct: According to Statistics Canada and Restaurants Canada the potential for dining out among those with moderate mobility disabilities is 1,275,703 meals per year. I can personally testify that some of that demand is already being met, though none of it at inaccessible restaurants. Let's say half of those meals don't happen presently, leaving a new business potential of 637,851 meals.
Hold that thought. Now let's turn our attention to restaurants.
According to Statistics Canada there are 1540 full-service restaurants and limited-service eating places in Nova Scotia as of January 2015.
Some of them will need extensive renovations to become accessible. Some already are accessible. Others, like Hali-Deli just got a free portable ramp. Some have a useful washroom, some have no washroom at all. Here's a table to help think about it:
| Cost to make accessible | |||||||
| Proportion of restaurants | # of restaurants | $500 | $2,500 | $5,000 | $7,500 | $10,000 | $15,000 |
| 25% | 385 | $192,500 | $962,500 | $1,925,000 | $2,887,500 | $3,850,000 | $5,775,000 |
| 50% | 770 | $385,000 | $1,925,000 | $3,850,000 | $5,775,000 | $7,700,000 | $11,550,000 |
| 75% | 1155 | $577,500 | $2,887,500 | $5,775,000 | $8,662,500 | $11,550,000 | $17,325,000 |
| 100% | 1540 | $770,000 | $3,850,000 | $7,700,000 | $11,550,000 | $15,400,000 | $23,100,000 |
If all 1540 restaurants had to spend $15,000 to become accessible, it would cost $23,100,000. My estimate is that about half of restaurants are inaccessible, and that $7500 would go a long way towards fixing the problem. Here are my figures:
| 16 foot aluminum ramp | $2,687 |
| 32" prehung door | $189 |
| Raised Toilet | $168 |
| Pedestal sink | $151 |
| Labour | $1,000 |
| Plumber | $1,000 |
| Carpenter | $1,000 |
| TOTAL | $6,196 |
The ramp is very nice and comes ready-to-assemble - meets code. Covers 2 steps. Fixtures are Home Depot prices. Labour is extremely generous, probably way too much. This assumes the restaurant already has a bathroom, at least 2X2 meters, that needs renovating.
So a $7,500 upgrade of 770 restaurants would cost $5,775,000.
Suppose the Province made a grant for the renovation. What's the payback? Well, It depends on the price of a meal:
| Cost of a meal | Annual Business Increase | Per Restaurant | Provincial HST portion | Years to recoup $7500 grant to 50% of restaurants |
| $10 | $6,378,514 | $4,142 | $637,851 | 9.1 |
| $25 | $15,946,285 | $10,355 | $1,594,629 | 3.6 |
| $50 | $31,892,570 | $20,709 | $3,189,257 | 1.8 |
| $75 | $47,838,855 | $31,064 | $4,783,886 | 1.2 |
| $100 | $63,785,140 | $41,419 | $6,378,514 | 0.9 |
My favorite meal on the planet is clams & chips and a chocolate shake at John's Lunch in Dartmouth, which runs $23.23 tax included. Let's take $25 for an average price - I think $30 is more realistic but $25 will do.
So here's the bottom line:
The 770 restaurants each increase business $10,355.
Gus Reed
3 comments:
Suggest throwing in a few more grand for alternate format menus so the 12% who can't read regular print can order a meal independantly
This is great. Seeing numbers really helps.
I'd like to suggest taking it a 'step' further so even more people can go and code minimums are met:
-a 34 or 36" door would be good - to meet code too (32" clear)- when it's open the depth of the door itself lessens the clear opening by 1 3/4"
-add lever hardware for that door
-add some drywall to move a wall to create room for turning space, and electrical for occupant sensor light
-and grab bars + blocking
-sounds self-serving, but a few hours of an experienced designer's time can solve a lot and save $'s.
I realize this may put the costs too high and deter some - but I don't think anyone should be compromised.
How about interest-free loans from province?
I'm curious about the MLA office renos as the work is similar - has anyone tallied the average costs?
Actually, a 36" door is cheaper - $107.10. I thin the miscellaneous pieces are well covered in the total, but maybe saying labour and plumber are $750 each and hardware is $500 is clearer. It would be great to have 3 budgets:
Low - Press Gang
Medium - Wooden Monkey
High - Epicurious Morsels (including a washroom)
Can I interest you in doing that or something similar?
Gus
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