Alan Stanley in The Guardian on restaurant patios that aren’t accessible to all:
There is no excuse for not making all new seasonal outdoor eating and drinking areas completely available to all. Business owners have asked the public to give up parking spaces where decks are built out into the street, and to give up the unencumbered use of public sidewalks to allow their warm weather expansions.
It’s usually a good trade — we can put up with these inconveniences in exchange for a more vibrant local culture and additional personal choices, but it seems self-evident that the benefits of this trade-off should extend to all. Why is it not mandated that every temporary structure be made in compliance with all normal accessibility codes for new construction? All too often we come across a new structure, a nicely surrounded wooden platform for instance, with a step up instead of a ramp. Not everyone can use a step, but everyone can use a ramp.
He is absolutely right.