What is Accessible?

This ramp at Otom is placed over the stairs. Adobo Grill has a similar setup.

I went to Adobo Grill last night for dinner. Metromix says it’s handicapped accessible. In this case, that means an accommodating waiter puts a ramp over the stairs.

I usually surf Metromix to make sure a restaurant or bar is wheelchair friendly before I go there, especially if I’m on my own. Most of the time the site’s brief description tells me what I need to know but not always.

Adobo Grill and Karyn’s Cooked are both listed as accessible, but there are stairs to get into the restaurants. And Otom is listed as inaccessible for the same reason. But at Otom there is a nice portable ramp that can be set up upon request. All three places have accessible restrooms. So the differences in accessibility reports are a mystery. Or maybe a mistake? Who knows.

Obviously definitions of accessibility vary wildly. So what does "accessible" really mean?

For me, if there’s a ramp in back and I can get in and out on my own, that’s accessible enough. I don’t have to go in the front door, and I don’t mind cutting through the kitchen. (It’s always interesting to get a sneak preview of what’s being served anyway!)

And If I can navigate the garish angle of a board laid over a few stairs without killing myself, that’s accessible too. I’d like to have a friend along to spot me if I try it though.

In the end, accessibility is as much about good advance communication as it is about the physical set-up of a place.

My friend Dave, for example, took pictures of the stairs and hand railings at his walk-up before he bought it.

“Can you get up and down these stairs?” he asked, showing me the photos. “Because if I buy this place, I want you to be able to spend time there.”

I was flattered and floored that he had really thought it through. Stairs or not, his condo is one of the most accessible I’ve known.