# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/101 "2013-08-20T16:58:14Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Do you honestly think an HOA would have any power to stop this? The ADA exists and busy body blue hairs can’t do a damn thing about it even if they think their property values are lowered. Not the ramp itself but an HOA has the legal power to approve the aesthetics of it. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/102 "2013-08-20T17:09:16Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > As pointed out above, until it breaks. > > I also would not hesitate to buy in that neighborhood. It’ just not a factor. I see. By that logic we should do away with elevators because they might break. I don’t know if you’ve ever wheeled 100 lbs up a ramp but it’s not without it’s problems and that occurs every time it’s done. On a good day it’s PITA on a bad day you have to deal with water, snow, and ice. The lift I showed is specifically for lifting wheel chairs. It’s industrial grade and runs on DC so it’s designed to operate if the power fails. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/103 "2013-08-20T17:15:08Z")
I don’t mind the ramp at all. There’s one in my neighborhood that’s really an eyesore, and I haven’t heard the neighbors protesting. Some people just have too much time on their hands. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/104 "2013-08-20T17:16:29Z")
> [@saje](#): > > I’ll take a necessary, well built, workmanlike ramp on a house across from me over neglected or badly trimmed bushes and ugly hydrangeas any day. Except that’s not what’s being discussed. The ramp they built doesn’t match the house aesthetically. It’s not the end of the world that neighbors don’t appreciate it. It appears from the photo that the owners already included landscaping to spruce it up so there really isn’t a story here at all. > [@saje](#): > > I don’t know why I’m still so astounded at the level of self-absorption today… saddens me every time. HOA’s are not something I’d be interested in but that doesn’t mean I find the mindset self-absorbed. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/105 "2013-08-20T17:19:33Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Spending a few hundred extra bucks on the ramp isn’t unreasonable. Then go spend it. The family has a daughter in a wheelchair, and our health care system is paleolithic. You can assume they’ve got better uses for their money. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/106 "2013-08-20T17:21:02Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I see. By that logic we should do away with elevators because they might break. > > I don’t know if you’ve ever wheeled 100 lbs up a ramp but it’s not without it’s problems and that occurs every time it’s done. On a good day it’s PITA on a bad day you have to deal with water, snow, and ice. > > The lift I showed is specifically for lifting wheel chairs. It’s industrial grade and runs on DC so it’s designed to operate if the power fails. I used to work for a beverage distributor . I’ve hauled almost 300 lbs up ramps and up/down curbs. My mom was in a wheelchair(long before the ADA), my younger brother has CP, I spent two years in one after my accident and my wife uses one right now. I think I know what it involves. A lift can break in more ways than just losing power and a business can find the money for repairs more easily than a private family. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/107 "2013-08-20T17:33:34Z")
If the neighbors want a better looking ramp, they should offer to pay for it. Otherwise, fuck 'em. And maybe fuck 'em even if they do offer to pay. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/108 "2013-08-20T17:55:05Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > That is a perfectly fine-looking ramp, particularly for a region which gets the occasional snowfall. I’d be concerned about somebody trying to navigate a snow-covered ramp in winter if it weren’t sturdy, with strong grab-rails all along. Ah, the slippery-slope argument! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/109 "2013-08-20T17:58:18Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > I used to work for a beverage distributor . I’ve hauled almost 300 lbs up ramps and up/down curbs. > My mom was in a wheelchair(long before the ADA), my younger brother has CP, I spent two years in one after my accident and my wife uses one right now. > I think I know what it involves. Then you know how dangerous a ramp is. on a regular basis. If their daughter has a fit as claimed in the article then loosing grip on the wheel chair is a real problem. She’s going to be banging of steel rails. > [@runner pat](#): > > A lift can break in more ways than just losing power and a business can find the money for repairs more easily than a private family. They sunk a tremendous amount of money in that ramp so your premise that they couldn’t afford repairs on a lift are not logical. These are industrial mechanisms of a simple design. They most likely consist of a motor, 4 switches and a worm gear drive. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/110 "2013-08-20T18:05:47Z")
\*smacks \*\*Sailboat \*_with a nor’easter_ ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/111 "2013-08-20T18:08:50Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I understand they have a right to the ramp. But shouldn’t they be expected to do it in a more eye appealing way? Why? It’s their property. It’s none of your business whether it looks appealing or not. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/112 "2013-08-20T18:15:03Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > They sunk a tremendous amount of money in that ramp so your premise that they couldn’t afford repairs on a lift are not logical. These are industrial mechanisms of a simple design. They most likely consist of a motor, 4 switches and a worm gear drive. Take a look at the picture of the house. There’s no place for a lift. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/113 "2013-08-20T18:15:28Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > It’s their property. It’s none of your business whether it looks appealing or not. Say that again when you’re selling your property that happens to be next door to a bunch of jackholes who let their property look like the outskirts of the town dump. Sure, when THEY sell, the property will look clean and tidy, because they’ll get more money that way, when YOU sell, it stays a shithole that’s chasing away your buyers. Legally, you may not be able to do squat about it, but I defy anyone to be happy with the idea of getting thousands of dollars less as a result of their neighbor’s eyesore. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/114 "2013-08-20T18:19:02Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Why? It’s their property. It’s none of your business whether it looks appealing or not. that’s just a false statement. Property owners are responsible for the maintenance of their property in any municipality I’ve lived in. That means lawns have to be mowed and the structure maintained in appearance. The extent of appearance varies from location to location. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/115 "2013-08-20T18:25:48Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Take a look at the picture of the house. There’s no place for a lift. That’s like saying there’s no place for a ramp. Of course there’s a place for the lift. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/116 "2013-08-20T18:28:31Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Fake stone and wrought iron sounds a lot tackier than the simple, modern, functional ramp that is there… That’s the problem with busy-body neighbors, one person’s beauty is another’s eyesore. If someone approached me complaining about my ramp, I’d go nuts blinging it out into the pimpinest ramp this world has ever seen. Big jewels on the rails, shiny gold paint, red velvet ramp, neon trim lights, and a sound system that blasts Yellow’s “Oh Yeah” every time I wheel up the ramp. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/117 "2013-08-20T18:30:25Z")
Wow, fuck the neighbors. That is an awful awful thing to be against. I hope whoever sues them loses big because I think every effort should be made to accommodate someone if they are disabled, especially if its a ramp in front of your own fucking house. I would protest any real estate agent who undervalued the house because of that, and/or undervalued the houses of neighbors. So there’s a ramp, big fucking deal, its a house like any other only more accessible. Hell, I would hope agents add value to the house because of that because any one of us can become disabled and need one and this house has one built in! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/118 "2013-08-20T18:34:28Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Hell, I would hope agents add value to the house because of that because any one of us can become disabled and need one and this house has one built in! That isn’t how it works. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/119 "2013-08-20T19:27:18Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Why? It’s their property. It’s none of your business whether it looks appealing or not. There’s a clause somewhere in the US Constitution that all Americans have the inalienable right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and stable property values. At least I’d have to assume it’s there, considering the number of busybodies who are convinced they have such a right. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2013, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682/120 "2013-08-20T19:36:32Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > Ha. I bet you run into that kind of shit all the time. People are so stupid. Like a store near my work that had a step up to get through the door and then a ramp down into the store. Really?? The worst was a bar that I went to one time that featured a fully accessible handicap restroom _upstairs_ from the main bar, with the only available means to get to that restroom was to go up the stairs themselves. To make matters even _more_ ridiculous, as I was filling out a complaint to be left for the owner, a man who identified himself as the daytime manager (he was sitting at the bar and it was nighttime) told me that they _did_ have an elevator, but it was only for employee use. However, he told me, he would let me use it “this one time”. So a bar with a handicap-accessible restroom upstairs, with a perfectly usable elevator available for the disabled customers to use, instead makes those customers be subject to being physically lifted and carried in their chairs up the stairs by multiple security guards. :smack:😕 All because that elevator is the “service only” elevator and off-limits for customers. WTF. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neighbors-complain-about-wheelchair-ramp-in-front-of-home/666682.md?page=7)