[CydeWeys]

I cannot agree with this more. I'm an able-bodied man who exercises at least five days a week. I definitely don't need any of this stuff, right? I have no problems stepping up curbs, taking even many flights of stairs, etc.

Until I broke my ankle in a bicycle accident last year. Then I became acutely aware of how poor some of the infrastructure is around me. The closest subway station to me doesn't have an elevator, for example, and the one nearest work only has a single elevator at one end of the platform that is often out of service. I supported accessibility standards in theory before this, but now that I've seen how they play out in practice, I strongly and emphatically support them. Empathy is hugely important.

I am also so goddamn thankful that there is the requirement to have sturdy handrails alongside all flights of stairs, and that this requirement is strictly enforced (thank the ADA or building codes or whatever is responsible). With these handrails, an otherwise able-bodied person on crutches can handle staircases relatively easily. Without them, stairs are death traps, especially going down. I would have been mostly confined to my apartment without the existence of these handrails. Fortunately, they exist everywhere, so I was able to tackle the stairs at my apartment, at the subway station, at work, and in the entrances to buses.

[pavel_lishin]

I became very aware of which subway stops have elevators after my elderly father came to visit us, and had to walk down the two long flights of stairs to the subway platform. (Luckily, there's one - one! - escalator that goes to the main mezzanine from the lower level, but if you're on the middle level, it's the staircase for you again.)

Another "temporary disability" that most people don't think of is carrying a baby. Suddenly, doors that can be operated one-handed (or even better, hands-free) are wonderful when you're trying to get your kid someplace where you can change that blow-out.

[CydeWeys]

Yeah, the stations I was mentioning don't have escalators either. Few in NYC do. Contrast with the DC Metro system, which is much more recent and has escalators in almost all stations. Still not good for wheelchair users, but much better for people on crutches.

[pavel_lishin]

We used to live at Parkside in Brooklyn, and one night my wife and I carried a guy in a wheelchair up the stairs.

He had no idea how to check which stations were handicap-accessible and which weren't, and when we showed him, it turns out he would have to go halfway further into Brooklyn, then get on a bus just to undo the journey above-ground. At something like 1 or 2am, too.

He just sort of deflated when he realized the journey ahead of him, so we just offered to lug him up the stairs, and did. Good thing he wasn't there alone.

[TheCoelacanth]

The DC metro has elevator access throughout the whole system as well. Judging by the frequent announcements I hear, there is almost always at least one or two elevators out, but they operate shuttles to take people with wheelchairs to the nearest station with working elevators when there is a outage.

[vacri]

> Empathy is hugely important. [story of own problems]

It's not 'empathy' if you don't notice it until it affects you personally, or you're only doing something because it might affect you in the future.

[icebraining]

It's not 'empathy' if you don't notice it until it affects you personally

Being affected personally at one time can (and, I assume, often does) help one develop empathy, though.