Preparing for Winter Access

(Local View from 4'2, Lake County Press, January 17, 2025)

It’s that time of year again to think about our snow and ice removal practices. A friendly reminder to all homeowners and businesses to update their snow and ice removal practices and procedures. As we have seen in other columns and ads in the Lake County Press concerning the use of salt and grit and how to best help the environment while being safe, I also encourage you to sweep up the leftovers. Leaving salt and grit on non snow and ice surfaces poses a huge safety risk for folks using mobility devices like walkers, canes, and foot propelling manual wheelchair users. The extra salt and grit make the ground uneven, slippery, and increases our fall risks.

Please have a parking lot and access aisle snow removal protocol so you are not waiting for the snow to stop before removing snow. If your business is open, then safe passage from parking to your business or home and back again is needed. This includes removing all snow from the edges of sidewalks so people using side entry ramps from vans can access the sidewalks for parking.

Please make sure your power doors are in good working order. In the cold weather many times the remote control or battery in the exterior mounted power door buttons can have issues. Also please make sure the door is unlocked and the power function is on during all working hours. This protocol has been missed at every robotics competition I have traveled to this season. It has been alarming how few event organizers think of this need, especially for robotics when one of the Core Values is Inclusion and almost every team is pulling a cart. Power opening doors benefit everyone. That being said, please be respectful of those whose access is not possible without these power assist doors. Slamming, punching, kicking or pounding on the buttons does no good except to damage this daily access need. Also using dirty footwear or body parts leaves a mess for those having to use their hands or other mobility aids to activate the buttons. Teaching young people about the etiquette in when to use and not use these buttons is also appreciated.

Another area to consider is your public restrooms. Wet floors can be a huge fall risk for people transferring in restrooms or other spaces people will be getting out of their chairs. Having squeegees and towels available for staff or patrons to use on the floors would be great!

Another consideration is the mats by exterior doors. Low profile mats are best so they don’t create barriers of access for small wheels as the high profile rubber mats that are designed to scrub the soles of boots and shoes can be a trap for wheelchair and walker tires. Please consider having low profile mats at the accessible door and the other mats, if wanted, at the less accessible doors. During the snowy or sandy months some places have even kept a small hand held broom by the door so patrons can get the extra snow or sand/dirt off the tires at the door so as to not create puddles throughout the space they are visiting.

And last but not least, having good communication about the status of business hours in large print and a variety of places helps disabled folks and everyone plan accordingly. If a patron can see that you are closed from the accessible parking spots then that not only saves them time and energy but it might save them and you liability issues due to safety risks.

When we all work together we make our spaces more safe and inclusive. This list is not exhaustive but just the beginning of the dialog in making things winter safe for people with mobility needs.