From Autoweek (http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130110/INDYCAR/130119971) comes word that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has reached an agreement to update its facilities so that they are ADA compliant.
The facility was built in 1909. It has expanded through the years, and nearly half of it was built before the ADA. With more than 250,000 seats, it's the largest such place in the world, and yet much of it is not accessible. This apparently triggered a complaint in 1999, and the resulting process appears to have been cooperative.
This agreement is an indication of change in more than facilities. In 1909, people with disabilities stayed at home—if they weren't in an institution. In the last few years, as the disability rights movement has grown, people with disabilities have become accustomed to living a life that is not constrained by artificial barriers.
The first changes came in academia and some employment settings. But now the world of sports has opened up to more people. Wheelchair basketball was once something of a curiosity. But recently, we have seen people with disabilities using adapted motorcycles, driving race cars, and taking on a variety of activities (see “Up & Down Tennis,” http://www.examiner.com/article/up-down-tennis). These changes have also been driven by veterans who have, since the Civil War, introduced the most recently assistive technology and thereby created social change. So it's fitting that these changes come to the Speedway that has honored disabled veterans through the years (see “Memorial Day and the Indy 500,” http://www.examiner.com/article/memorial-day-and-the-indy-500).
Comments