We can have all kinds of accessibility features in our built environment but in a real sense it’s people’s attitudes that matter. Supportive attitudes give rise to more and better accessibility enhancements, and negative attitudes or outright selfishness can mitigate them.
Take the humble bus stop. Bus stops in my neighborhood in Brooklyn often are treated as lay-by or parking areas even though all are marked with ”No Standing” signs. On Jay Street in downtown Brooklyn, a bus stop near a major subway station routinely is occupied by for-hire vehicles waiting for fares, delivery trucks, and people picking up pizza. On Flatbush Avenue across from the Barclays Center arena, no-standing zones on both sides of the street are filled with cars driven by people picking up food from Shake Shack or, next door, Chick-Fil-A. Today we were waiting to board a bus at a stop where a car was parked, tailgate open, only the front passenger seat occupied. As our bus approached, three other people approached the car, no hurry at all, exchanging hugs, and I said to the driver “If I were in a wheelchair I could not board that bus.” One of the passengers said “Are you serious?” and the driver said “You only have to walk two feet out to get on” (it was in the travel lane, actually). No, I wasn’t in a wheelchair and I did board the bus, but suppose I had been in a wheelchair?
This is where built things, including signage, fall short. The police can’t enforce everything. People need to not be self-important, not be jerks. It’s a minor symptom of a cult of selfishness that is killing our society. With all due respect to Paul Krugman (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/27/opinion/us-republicans-coronavirus.html?searchResultPosition=1), it’s not just on the political right. Odds are the people parked iin the bus stop consider themselves “progressive.” Need to load or unload a vehicle? Put it somewhere else and walk a little bit farther. Spare a thought for those with disabilities. We all need to be mindful and responsible. And those of us in the disability community, don’t be shy. Speak out.