Ugly Elevator Incident Yields Advocacy Opportunity

[jesse_the_k]

Following brainwane's excellent advice, I've been on sabbatical from my years of advocacy re accessible environments.

Yesterday I lunched with a pal who works upstairs in a 1940s office building (which has been rehabbed many times). The owner claims historic turn-of-the century and art-deco design: built as a work of art! as well as parking lot and building are wheelchair accessible.

On the way in, I found this elevator sign weird but didn't take the message seriously:

PASSENGERS

Please be aware, this elevator cab may take a few minutes before it moves. This does not mean the elevator is out of order. Thank you for your patience.

But shit got real when I took the elevator back down.

I entered, pushed ground floor -- nothing happened. Per sign, I waited a minute. Pushed the "open door" button with no response.

My dislike of closed spaces began ramping up. Luckily for me, I was meeting MyGuy in the parking lot for a ride. I sent him a message (we both have iPhones so it was an iMessage). Waited two more minutes until the phone said "message wasn't delivered." I resent as SMS, asking him to push the 1st floor call button. That finally woke up the elevator. I'd spent six too-long minutes in there.

Wisconsin eliminated the requirement for two-way communication in elevators back in the early 2000s -- I learned about elevator regulation when I was on my State's Conveyance Safety Code Council. The assumption is that "everybody" has a cel phone -- but as I learned, elevator shafts are not always a great place for signal reception!

Now I have to write the office building's owner (copying in city building inspection, the city's civil rights coordinators, the city department housed in the building, as well as a copy to the local independent living center just for kicks. Ugh, advocacy.