Grits in Charleston just aren't the same as Grits in Halifax

Thanks to Elizabeth Portman of the N.W.T. for pointing to this very timely article.

People with disabilities are awaiting a decision on the equitable enforcement of public health regulations in Nova Scotia.  While the Charleston article has a slightly different slant, there are some commonalities with the situation in Halifax:

With the Charleston area graying faster than the rest of the country, thanks in part to the city’s repeated appearances on lists of “Best Places to Retire” published by Kiplinger, Forbes and U.S. News, mobility experts say it won’t be long before a significant portion of the population will need a cane, walker, wheelchair or other assistive device to go out on the town. And in a city lauded by those same magazines for “well-preserved antebellum architecture” and “cobblestone streets,” that could present a problem.

In a low-margin business like the restaurant industry, it’s not hard for an owner to claim there’s no money in the budget for reconfiguring booths or installing ramps.  (In Nova Scotia, the government makes more on your meal in HST than the restaurant does in profit)

...members of the city’s Committee on Disability Issues are trying to encourage more open discussion of what it takes to make everyone feel welcome in a restaurant. They want the hospitality community to understand that seemingly arcane guidelines dictating the height of sinks and width of corridors determine whether they’ll order a second drink or just nurse one, because the bathroom is essentially off-limits to them.

While diners who walk without assistance might zero in on stairs as the main obstacle for wheelchair users, bigger frustrations are often invisible to them, such as being directed down a back alleyway to wait outside an accessible door alongside a Dumpster. Ultimately, Saxon says, “It’s discrimination. Disability rights are civil rights.”

Wheelchair users quickly learn that people who aren’t in wheelchairs tend to have a liberal definition of “accessible.” A restaurant may describe itself as accessible because there’s only one step leading to the door, or because it has low-top tables. Marka Rodgers remembers being told Taziki’s Mediterranean Café in Mount Pleasant was accessible, only to discover before dessert that there wasn’t a bathroom she could use. Since then, she says, she’s always called restaurants before visiting to go over their amenities in detail.