Fightin' The Man: A Tale Of An Ada Dispute Inwards Southern California

Monrovia is a pretty picayune town nearly fifteen miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It’s non on a lot of tourist’s radar, which is a shame, merely should be. The metropolis is known for its immaculate craftsman too Victorian fashion homes. Writer Upton Sinclair had a beautiful Mediterranean fashion villa.  Film companies flock hither to shoot inward the city’s downtown surface area on Myrtle Avenue that stands inward for the typical “Main Street, America” look.

Upton Sinclair House

Image courtesey of Wikimedia

Doncam nether CC BY-SA 3.0 License

That All-American, Main Street experience extends to the festival too farmer’s marketplace that takes identify hither every Fri nighttime along Myrtle Avenue.

We receive got to come upward hither each Fri nighttime for physical therapy for Tim. The side past times side festival makes it tardily to measuring out later for dinner too browsing. 

There are 3 restaurants nosotros rotate through on a weekly footing on each corner of the view of the festival, the intersection of Myrtle Avenue too Colorado Boulevard. The quaternary corner is a banking concern merely we’d dearest individual to opened upward a prissy identify to swallow in that location too therefore nosotros tin terminate receive got a amount rotation.  I digress…

One Fri nighttime a few months ago, nosotros finished our workout. As Tim does his therapy, Letty too I brand purpose of the fourth dimension to move out inward the gym. Afterward, nosotros brand our agency over to the corner to accept wages of T. Phillips’ 72 taps too Happy Hour appetizer prices for dinner alone to come across a dismal sight.

One of the vendor booths for the festival has laid upward store straight on the wheelchair ramp too curb cutting blocking the access to the entrance.

I asked the vendor why they were there, blocking our way. He told me that the people running the festival told him to laid upward there. The vendor moved about of their trade to create a broad plenty path for Tim to larn through spell I flora 1 of the safety guards for the festival.

He told me I’d receive got to accept it upward amongst the festival managing director who was nowhere to endure flora at this moment.

I left him amongst the message that this was illegal too the booth had amend non endure in that location following week.

Fast forrard to the following week. After the workout, nosotros over again larn to our dinner corner. This calendar week in that location wasn’t 1 booth blocking the curb cut…now in that location were 2 booths blocking 2 corners.

Seething, nosotros laid downward to swallow merely I kept an oculus out the window. I know that the mayor too metropolis council members are frequent visitors to the festival too therefore I desire to honor 1 too complain.

No mayor or councilmembers showed merely the managing director of the festival was walking by.

I left our tabular array too flora him at 1 of the booths blocking the way.


I greeted him too introduced myself to him equally nicely equally I could too said “you can’t block the ramp similar this, in that location are several people hither inward wheelchairs that demand this access.”

His showtime reply was “yes I tin terminate because I move out 4 feet on the side.”

My reply was “no y'all can’t because that 4 feet is sloped sideways too a wheelchair user would experience similar they’re tipping over.”

The following argue was “yes I tin terminate because we’re non a permanent fixture here, we’re alone temporary.”

I acknowledge it was a chip tough to fence without the police inward paw or an goodness grasp of it merely I bluffed ahead anyway…”I don’t consider how a festival that is hither every unmarried Fri nighttime of the twelvemonth is non permanent. I desire y'all to clear these ramps too if I don’t consider them clear following calendar week I volition accept this to the mayor too metropolis council.”

We left it when he told me non to worry too he’d accept assist of it.

Another calendar week goes by, about other session of therapy, too about other workout.  Dinner afterward. 
Two corners blocked past times the same vendor booths.

OK, straightaway it’s fourth dimension to follow through on my promise…

Darryl
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