Sunday, March 29, 2009

People with disabilities will find the new Kauffman Stadium far friendlier

People with disabilities will find the new Kauffman Stadium far friendlier


Forty years ago, when I acquired my disability, there were NO equal rights laws for people with disabilities. I was young, skinny & used a manual wheelchair and ready willing & able to be lifted, bounced & banged up steps, curbs & steep inclines.

Since then I’ve seen (& have been involved in) the passage of: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Amendments to National Transportation & Safety Board regulations, Amendments to the Fair Housing Act, as well as the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Now, I don’t do steps… nor do I “go in the back door” at restaurants (which needs to ramped so they can get their kegs of beer in). So when we (Jackson County residents) passed the bonds to renovate The K, I was excited to see how they would include integrated seating in the retro-fit and new seating configurations.

I sent several emails to Royals inquiring about accessible seating and their only reply was to send me a Seating & Pricing link, which I already knew how to navigate to. That bothered me on two fronts. First of all, they didn’t directly answer my question, nor route me to someone who COULD. So, I was kind of worried that my issues weren’t being addressed.

My other problem has to do with the fact that I can’t order accessible tickets online… they always make me send an email that they may or may not respond to in a timely manner… but I’ll go deeper into this issue in another blog-post.

Anyway, I know and trust some of the people sited in the KC Star article and mostly just wish I had been involved in the process… jealousy is an ugly thing. (insert emotion)

So when I go to The K, I’ll know who to bitch to if I see accessibility issues.

Side note… this article includes proper terminology when referring to people with disabilities. It’s not that hard to get it right, but not done well on a consistent basis… kudos KC Star!

No comments: