One of the underreported aspects of ableism for people in wheelchairs is how goddamn annoying certain floor and ground surfaces are.
Here are the worst floor and ground surfaces, counted down in order of how annoyed they make me, a wheelchair user:
5. Area Rugs
Just have a short carpet cover the whole room or don’t! Do not give me something to trip on!
4. Long Pile Carpet
Again, short carpet exists and it’s fine! Why is this a thing? Do people want me to fall over?
3. Sidewalks
Tree branches and shit always make the goddamn things uneven and I lurch forward! I dread every sidewalk I have to roll on! This isn’t just annoying, but unsafe!
2. Gravel
For god’s sake, pave your goddamn asphalt! Does anyone like walking on this shit? I can barely get through it in a power chair! The huge piles of tiny rocks are just too thick!
1. Cobblestones
Everyone talks about cobblestones for their old-fashioned feel and historical importance and pleasantness. Everyone is so intrigued by taking little strolls on fancy little cobblestone roads! Screw that! They’re bumpy, uneven and hurt my ears too! I don’t care that they’re old! Find another way to appreciate old things!
As an ambulatory user with only a manual chair, I learned very quickly how much of a pain cobblestones are (thanks, Boston) in dry weather. I find them even worse in cold rain. (Again, Boston.) Nearly any surface can be a pain to roll on… though carpet as a problem didn’t occur to me until a particular convention I went to where the hotel had a rather thick pile carpet and the convention center’s carpet wasn’t much better. It was EXHAUSTING and I had to get my friend to give me a push so I could get down the hotel’s hallway to reach the convention center! It’s really something you only notice if you’ve got wheels.