Letter of the Day: Statesville shops, residents need to respect handicapped

In response to Mr. Henry Odell Williams’ letter about there being so many unfriendly wheelchair businesses in Statesville, I totally agree.

I am also in a wheelchair with a spinal cord injury due to a gunshot wound from which I am now a paraplegic.

Before I was injured, I never paid any attention to handicapped accessibilities. Most people don’t until they have to use them.

There are certain guidelines you go by when making wheelchair ramps, and there are some ramps in front of businesses that are so steep, it makes it really hard to get up it in a manual chair by yourself.

Some businesses are so full of merchandise it’s almost impossible to get around in a wheelchair, and then they have stuff on tables set up in the middle of the aisles, which makes them too narrow to get through.

There are medical offices with waiting areas that are so small there’s hardly any room for a wheelchair. All major stores and businesses should have an automatic door. Also, there needs to be more handicapped parking spaces uptown and especially out at Crossroads, especially in front of Wal-Mart.

There’s not but three spaces in front of Wal-Mart that are wide enough for a van with a ramp that comes out on the side.

There would be more available spaces if all these people who are not handicapped would stop parking in them.

Wheelchair-bound people’s lives are hard and challenging enough without having them made more difficult when they go out into society.

Every business is supposed to be handicapped-accessible, but they are not.

The city needs to take a good look at the accessibilities in Statesville because there are so many improvements that need to be done.

Sherry Reep
Statesville