[MR] Ideas for SCA Event site near Elkin, NC

[rmhowe]

Hawke5705 at aol.com wrote:
>
> In a message dated 9/23/02 10:04:41 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
> phillip at mindless.com writes:
>
> How about making it 100% handicapped accessible

In regard to this I would suggest NOT putting in really deep acorn
sized gravel with no intermixed clay.  There were a number of traps
at Pennsic that took four of us to get my scooter out (when I was
out of it). One was near the east end of the merchant area northeast
of the barn. Another was the eastern gate to the merchant area from
the battlefield. The wheels simply sink in. Long grass on slopes
makes scooter wheels slide and spin. While most scooters can
do a straight slope a path on a double incline can tip a
three wheeled one over.

I also suggest not doing the Colonial Williamsburg thing and
laying in three inches of oyster shells and pea gravel near
the rest rooms. It only looks nice. It's more like quicksand.
Large roots above the ground level in walking areas are hard too.

As to anything used for the public all new and old buildings
and structures are subject to the Americans with Disabilities
Act which limits ramps to 12 degrees or less and specifies
certain turning radii, bathroom stall and lavatory measurements,
and a lot of other things. I used to have to design and install
cabinets and desks and sinks for NCSU to comply with it. It
also affects door sizes.  Anybody with a serious handicap is going to
have a hell of a time getting into or out of a portajohn.

In regard to the ADA I believe you can get a $2000 tax credit for
each parking space reserved for the handicapped. I seem to remember
that but I could be wrong. I can tell you a lot of people really
need them.

I'm one of those people who can walk for a while after I've been
in a chair for a good while (days sometimes) but uses a rolling
walker in stores, etc. (the air tends to suck me sideways and
backwards at times, and I have poor balance when I am tired) and
a handicapped scooter to do larger events a few times per year.
Where I used to walk 5 to 10 miles per nite a quarter mile
messes me up now. So do slopes.

My High School wisely followed the Isothermal Community College plan,
and I've seen the University here do the same. Once you get your
structures in wait a while while people establish natural paths
to put your paths in. They are going to take all the short cuts
anyway.

There are plenty of people who are far worse off than I am.
Some are in scooters/motorized chairs all of the time.

Magnus