# Neighbors complain about wheelchair ramp in front of home. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 20, 2013, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682 "2013-08-20T01:32:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emtar_KronJonDerSohn)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/241 "2013-08-24T16:55:41Z")
You know how sometimes somebody writes something so incredibly dense and deficient that you just have to look at the top right corner to see their join date? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me 38 times… ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/242 "2013-08-24T20:13:23Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > You’d be surprised how many people can’t manage simple repairs. Yes, a lot of people really do need to hire someone to fix anything with a motor. Parents caring for a disabled child likely don’t have the time or energy to learn yet another new skill. you’d be surprised how many people can’t manage to shovel their walk. Many of them are handicapped. Lather rinse and repeat for other items like cars and powered wheelchairs. > [@Broomstick](#): > > Lifts WILL break, sooner or later. They are motor-driven and contain moving mechanical parts. A ramp, on the other hand, requires no more “surface maintenance” than sidewalks and driveways, which have to be done anyway in inclement weather and I suspect one reason for choosing concrete is to allow the parents to use the exact same “maintenance” on the ramp as on the driveway as a way of simplifying things. see above > [@Broomstick](#): > > If she has a motorized wheelchair she can get up and down the ramp without assistance as well. As a bonus, if her motorized wheelchair did break down it wouldn’t leave her stranded in the air. And she has her parents as care givers. Are the handicapped supposed to do without mechanical devices because they might break? She could be stuck on a sidewalk somewhere. In the case of the lift, it’s a very low height. Getting “stuck” is like getting stuck on one step of a stairway. It’s not a mineshaft. > [@Broomstick](#): > > So? Elderly people have to wait “until the process is finished”. My spouse isn’t even in a wheelchair but has to wait inside until I finish shoveling between the door and our vehicles to go anywhere in winter. Being disabled is inconvenient no matter how you slice it, travel is never as easy and care free as when you’re able-bodied, and it’s not a matter of avoiding all inconvenience but choosing which ones you’ll put up with. So nothing, the ramp adds 30 feet of snow removal and deicing. You can’t had wave that away as not inconvenient. > [@Broomstick](#): > > And who, exactly, is going to be using the hand pump? The disabled person? Aging parents? Anybody capable of it. That’s like asking what should be done if a powered wheel chair breaks down. > [@Broomstick](#): > > It’s not about what YOU will find most convenient, it’s about what works for them. Yes, and? I have an opinion. If you don’t like the opinion that’s fine. > [@Broomstick](#): > > No, but I think that’s largely because I see wheelchair ramps installed, not lifts. The vast majority of ramps are made of wood because of cost and the ability to remove it when selling the house. A good analogy of their purchase would be the construction of manual wheel chair out of titanium and other expensive materials verus purchasing a motorized one for the same money. The motorized one has more utility value. I don’t understand why this is so hard to understand. > [@Broomstick](#): > > If their daughter has a motorized wheelchair she can get up and down the ramp on her own. well that would depend on her level of coordination. She has a neurological disease. > [@Broomstick](#): > > I’ve pushed quite a few wheelchairs up and down ramps in my time. With a _well designed_ ramp it’s not an issue for a person of normal strength to do this. Even outside, if the ramp is at the proper slant even a little rain or snow isn’t an insurmountable problem, the surfaces don’t have to be pristine for this to work out. insurmountable no, hazardous and inconvenient yes. > [@Broomstick](#): > > If they’re so superior why don’t all disabled people have them? answered above. Most ramps are made of wood due to cost and the ability to remove them. Permanent ramps lower the value of houses because fewer people want them and they can’t easily be removed. And it’s not a function of being “superior”. There is no one size fits all solution to everything in life and you know this. I simply pointed out that in THIS instances they spent a great deal of money on a ramp that could have gone toward something with greater utility value. So far the argument against a lift has been that the handicapped shouldn’t use modern conveniences because they might break down. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/243 "2013-08-24T20:15:02Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > NO. A lift would be 100% AWESOME. Everyone should have a lift. Even if they are not disabled. Ramps are like Darth Vader and lifts are like Luke Skywalker except less whiny. THERE ARE ZERO NEGATIVES TO HAVING A LIFT. EVERYONE KNOWS THIS. A ramp would be 100% AWESOME. Everyone should have a ramp. Even if they are not disabled. lifts are like Darth Vader and ramps are like Luke Skywalker except less whiny. THERE ARE ZERO NEGATIVES TO HAVING A RAMP. EVERYONE KNOWS THIS. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/244 "2013-08-24T20:27:23Z")
You seem upset. Have you considered buying a lift? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/245 "2013-08-24T20:40:16Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > You seem upset. Have you considered buying a lift? I turned your own sarcasm back on you to show you what it sounded like to me. So it begs the question. Are you upset? Have you considered buying a ramp? 🙂 I thought I made my point pretty clear. They spent a great deal of money on a ramp. Given the amount they spent they could have gained additional utility by purchasing a lift. Now last time I checked, It isn’t a radical idea to post an opinion. It’s not a right or wrong situation and it doesn’t require a bunch of sarcasm in place of discussion. But I am truly surprised that people think the handicapped are locked into non-mechanical solutions to problems. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/246 "2013-08-24T20:47:33Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I turned your own sarcasm back on you to show you what it sounded like to me. OH SHIT, SON, I JUST GOT SERVED. You are correct that sarcasm is not _required_ in place of discussion. But sometimes it seems appropriate. Like in the case of your obsessive focus on lifts. If you were new to the boards, I would be pretty much 100% convinced that you were a shill for a lift company. It has gone past strange and into hilarity. ---
**Author:** ![Tequila\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a6a055/32.png) [@Tequila\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Party)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/247 "2013-08-24T20:49:34Z")
You have made your point very clear. All 748 times that you’ve stated it. No ramp for you! ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/248 "2013-08-24T20:56:16Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I am truly surprised that people think the handicapped are locked into non-mechanical solutions to problems. This is neither here nor there but _this_ wheelchair-user would choose a ramp over a lift every-single-time, no question. I think lifts are horrid devices that I despise and loathe the thought of _ever_ having to use under any circumstance. The idea of having one attached to my _home_ that I would need to use every single time I wanted to get in or out of my house is enough to make me a fucking shut in. Fuck that shit. I am fairly certain (heavy on the sarcasm) that the family knew what the fuck they were doing when they put the ramp in. Give it a fucking rest. Your commitment to your position here is bordering on bizarre. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/249 "2013-08-24T21:07:09Z")
> [@Tequila\_Party](#): > > You have made your point very clear. All 748 times that you’ve stated it. No ramp for you! Actually I think you missed my point. I never said lifts were the the answer to everything. I said there was an option available with greater utility value for the money spent in this example. That doesn’t make it the right decision for the people who chose the ramp. It’s just my opinion. I build what people ask me to build. When asked I give options with the pro’s and con’s. It’s not profitable to browbeat someone into something they don’t want. Given a different location and house layout or budget I’d suggest a ramp. As for all “748 times” I’m responding to those responding to my opinion. Goose, meet gander. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/250 "2013-08-24T21:15:39Z")
It’s the insistent assertion that the lift’s utility is objectively “better” that seems a bit odd. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/251 "2013-08-24T21:18:03Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > This is neither here nor there but _this_ wheelchair-user would choose a ramp over a lift every-single-time, no question. I think lifts are horrid devices that I despise and loathe the thought of _ever_ having to use under any circumstance. The idea of having one attached to my _home_ that I would need to use every single time I wanted to get in or out of my house is enough to make me a fucking shut in. Fuck that shit. I am fairly certain (heavy on the sarcasm) that the family knew what the fuck they were doing when they put the ramp in. Give it a fucking rest. Your commitment to your position here is bordering on bizarre. Oddly, I never suggested you get a lift. Or a ramp, Or do anything for that matter. If you don’t like my opinion that’s too fucking bad. I think your behavior here is boorish and uncalled for. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/252 "2013-08-24T21:18:44Z")
I like the lift idea, If anyone knows an eccentric Billionaise They could pay to have the family’s whole front yard dug up and replaced with a giant Aircraft carrier elevator, with billowing steam special effects and klaxon when operating. It would be sweet to have your whole lawn rise up to the door. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/253 "2013-08-24T21:20:20Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > It’s the insistent assertion that the lift’s utility is objectively “better” that seems a bit odd. Really? You don’t see the value of an elevator over stairs? ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/254 "2013-08-24T21:21:31Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Really? You don’t see the value of an elevator over stairs? I think we had a whole thread about this recently. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/255 "2013-08-24T21:23:19Z")
We’re really arguing ramp vs. lift? Lifts are fugly. Put them in the garage or back yard. Please. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/256 "2013-08-24T21:23:24Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > I think we had a whole thread about this recently. Well hopefully it had lots of sarcasm in it. Wouldn’t want anyone to feel left out. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/257 "2013-08-24T21:24:43Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Really? You don’t see the value of an elevator over stairs? Given the multitude of comments about this, describing the positives and negatives, including comments fom people who actually use wheelchairs, this is clearly a matter of opinion and there is no objective better choice. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/258 "2013-08-24T21:41:15Z")
This thread has actually biased me against lifts. I never gave a mechanical lift a thought, one way or the other, and now I have on a ‘fuck lifts’ tshirt and a ‘ramps rock’ tattoo. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/259 "2013-08-24T21:47:18Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Now last time I checked, It isn’t a radical idea to post an opinion. it’s not a radical idea to post an opinion, and maybe a followup or two. But you’ve turned this thread from someone else’s thread asking about a wheelchair ramp in front of a house to your own wheelchair lift evangelizing thread. You’re really fixated on this. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2013, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/260 "2013-08-24T21:51:01Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > I never gave a mechanical lift a thought, one way or the other, and now I have on a ‘fuck lifts’ tshirt. :D:D Where do I put my order in for one? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682.md?page=14)