NY: New Disabled Persons Symbol

[burgess87]

http://wivb.com/2014/07/25/cuomo-signs-law-approving-new-handicapped-signs/

ALBANY, N.Y. (WIVB) — The old, familiar handicapped signs will soon be a thing of the past.

Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed a law that changes the traditional image of a wheelchair bound character used on ramps and accessible parking to show a character in motion. The new law also prohibits the use of the word "handicapped"  from being displayed on signs and instead only allows for the word "accessible."

Old on the left, new on the right.

I don't see what's wrong with what we have now.

[corco]

The new sign marginalizes people in electric wheelchairs- are they not good enough to be recognized? Will their feelings not be hurt when they feel like they should be able to propel the wheelchair themselves?

I really don't see the point here.

[hotdogPi]

It looks like the person is falling off.

[Zeffy]

Wow, this change is extremely pointless. Did people actually care about the old handicap (I'm sorry - accessibility) symbol?

[Pete from Boston]

Is the new character doing things the Max Power way — the same, but faster?

I know at least one person has mentioned being a wheelchair user on this forum. Being more or less able-bodied, I don't have any real opinion on either symbol. As far as I'm concerned–and honestly, it really doesn't matter what I think–people can use whatever makes them feel good.

[Jardine]

Looks like a gang tag

[Big John]

Looks like he is using the toilet.

[Ian]

Looks like he is using the toilet.

Looks like he fell in said toilet.

[hbelkins]

If this is the kind of thing Cuomo and the New York legislature are worried about, then I guess everything is just peaches and cream in the Empire State.

[SSOWorld]

Racing wheelchairs only - no cars can park there now - regardless.

EDIT:

In a prepared statement, Cuomo said, "This bill is an important step toward correcting society's understanding of accessibility and eliminating a stigma for more than one million New Yorkers, and I am proud to sign it into law today."

The signs were given an update to emphasize the person rather than the disability itself.

HOW!??? 

[triplemultiplex]

The new one actually looks like a person sitting in something rather than the outline of the chair itself.

Also, the action pose seems ripe for meme comedy.

[SSOWorld]

This is Euphemism at its best.  "They actually think that if they change the name of something it changes the thing itself! </paraphrase of a George Carlin quote>.  Ok, sensitivity becomes defensive awareness...

[hbelkins]

Cuomo's statement reeks of political correctness.

[corco]

Cuomo's statement reeks of political correctness.

Absolutely it does, and in this case I think there's an equally valid liberal politically correct rant to make that the new symbol is worse than the old symbol, because it singles out able-bodied people in wheelchairs as opposed to the elderly with mobility issues or the more significantly handicapped that can't move at all.

The disabled folks that need accommodation the least are now the ones on the sign, which is silly. Abled body, active wheelchair users are fully capable of parking far away and wheeling themselves to where they need to go (and often do so for the exercise, just as non wheelchair users frequently park away on purpose just for the exercise), as long as ramps and things are in place to make that physically possible.

Yeah, it promotes healthy lifestyles and independent wheelchair users, but it also marginalizes those with more substantial mobility issues by not including them on the sign- are they lesser people because they should be capable of propelling their own wheelchairs? The old symbol was more generic, which is good.

Either way, I think the whole thing is a load of hooey.

[Duke87]

As I read it, this requirement only applies to "any new or replaced state signage". This means counties, municipalities, and private businesses are free to continue using the traditional symbol.

Meanwhile, I have no aesthetic objection to the new symbol. If anything it looks more modern and more stylistically appropriate for the 21st century. The old symbol looks like something out of the 1990s (because, well, it is).


I agree that all this nonsense about "oh no, we can't use the word handicapped" and "we need to show them in motion!" is dumb, although I do fault both the old and new symbols for having an entirely different flaw - namely, that not everyone who is handicapped is confined to a wheelchair, and the symbol therefore marginalizes people on crutches, using walkers, etc. Because of this symbol I have grown up with the idea in my head that "handicapped" equals "in a wheelchair" and those other possibilities seem less important since they're not what the picture shows. I'm sure I'm not alone in this.

For an example of why this brings about unproductive thinking, I will point to the NYC subway. The vast majority of stations are not handicapped accessible at all, since they were built decades before the idea of handicapped people going out and taking care of themselves was a thing. In efforts to try and comply with ADA as much as is feasible, a lot of effort has been spent on adding elevators to stations so that people in wheelchairs may get in and out of them. But elevators are a rather low capacity form of vertical transportation, so they are not an efficient way of getting people in and out of a station. Especially when, the way most stations are set up, you need two elevators for each trip - one from the platform to the mezzanine level behind the turnstiles, and another from in front of the turnstiles to the street.

Realistically speaking, the majority of handicapped people are not confined to a wheelchair - they are elderly people who can walk, but can't handle climbing stairs very well. The subway would be made more accessible to a majority of handicapped users if the MTA made a point of installing escalators rather than elevators. This would also benefit all users since it would legitimately improve pedestrian flow (escalators are the highest capacity form of vertical transport available), and unlike elevators they never break down, they just temporarily become stairs. 

But, nope, the law says elevators or bust. Cost versus benefit be damned.

[empirestate]

Well I'm definitely gonna hold handicapped people to this new standard. If I see this symbol start to appear on wheelchair crossing signs, I'll know I don't need to slow down as much. 

[amroad17]

It looks like it could be a sign for Wheelchair Basketball.

Couldn't New York State's money be better spent?  We really do not need a "new symbol" for those in wheelchairs or those with limited mobility.  The current one has worked for nearly 40 years.

[bandit957]

I don't see what's wrong with what we have now.

Because it looks like a toilet, that's why. When I was growing up in the '70s, I actually thought that symbol was a toilet.

[Pete from Boston]

I think it's like this:

OLD
Wheelchair user static
Passive
Invalid

NEW
Wheelchair user engaged in moving self
Active
Living productive life

It's silly to spend money on new signs, but as they replace them, I don't see the problem in updating the symbol. 

[jeffandnicole]

The problem with a single state changing a sign is that you start breaking away from uniformity.  And...many of those with wheelchairs aren't racing along.  They are barely getting from point a to point b.

Let's come up with a symbol for those that have a handicap placard, look fine while walking, but claim it's for a disability that one can't see but something could happen at any moment.  (Do those conditions exist for some people? Sure.  But if the parking lot is generally empty, these people could also use a regular parking spot right next to the handicap spots, freeing up the spots for those that truly need them.)

[xcellntbuy]

It's silly season folks.  Election time in the most dysfunctional state government in the Union.

[PHLBOS]

It's silly season folks.  Election time in the most dysfunctional state government in the Union.

Well, voters in NY State can change that this coming fall.  Will they? is another topic for another forum.

The old symbol looks like something out of the 1990s (because, well, it is).

It's actually been around since the 70s... maybe even the late-60s 1968.

The problem with a single state changing a sign is that you start breaking away from uniformity.

Bingo!  IIRC, the standard symbol is used in all related ADA and MUTCD signage; regardless of which state one's in.

[spooky]

handi-capable!!!

[codyg1985]

Why was good money wasted on doing this?

[bandit957]

It's silly season folks.  Election time in the most dysfunctional state government in the Union.

I take it you've never been to Indiana.