New Orleans program distributes free wheelchair ramps to entertainment venues across city

From The Times-Picayune in New Orleans:

The N.O. Comedy Scene, a group organized by former mayoral candidate, comedian and disability activist Jonah Bascle (pictured), kicked off a campaign on July 28 to distribute free wheelchair ramps to entertainment venues across the city.

The first ramp was given to the Lost Love Lounge, where the group performs a regular Tuesday night comedy gig. Later this week, ramps will be distributed to the Big Top, La Nuit Theater and Ms. Mae's.

The ramps, which cost $120 to make, are financed by donations and proceeds from comedy shows and are provided to businesses for free.

"New Orleans isn't very handicap-accessible," said Bascle, who has muscular dystrophy and uses a wheelchair. "We're trying to change that."

Bascle said many bars and restaurants in the city have a single step that hinders wheelchair access, a problem that the ramps -- which are removable -- will remedy.

The group hopes to donate eight ramps a month, at locations from Bourbon Street to Magazine Street. They are also working on a Google map application that will let people who use wheelchairs search online for accessible venues.

According to Lois Simpson, executive director of the Louisiana Advocacy Center, which lobbies for disability rights, most venues are required by the Americans with Disabilities Act to be wheelchair-accessible. But enforcement is lax, she said, and is usually only mandated by lawsuit.

Last October, the Advocacy Center sued the newly renovated, city-owned Mahalia Jackson Theater for not providing adequate access to people who have disabilities.

Data the group has collected have shown that a significant number of bars and restaurants in New Orleans aren't ADA compliant, and Simpson thinks that by making a few simple alterations, restaurants and entertainment venues not only can help patrons with wheelchairs, but also themselves.

"They are probably missing out on a lot of business. Most people with wheelchairs don't go out alone. If places aren't accessible, they'll probably just go somewhere else," she said.

Geoff Douville, part owner of the Lost Love Lounge, said he was happy to accept the ramp from the group.

"We've been concerned with wheelchair access for a while. It just seemed to make common sense," he said.

Bascle, 24, ran for mayor last year on a single-issue platform of making the St. Charles Avenue streetcar accessible to the handicapped. Though he received only 160 votes in the primary, his campaign, along with a February protest he organized that temporarily shut down streetcar service, drew some attention to the issue.

He said Wednesday that in recent travels to Los Angeles and Chicago, he was shocked by how far New Orleans lagged behind other cities in wheelchair access.

The N.O. Comedy Scene is a recent effort spearheaded by Bascle and fellow comic Byron Raila to fuse a passion for comedy with disability-related advocacy.

In addition to constructing wheelchair ramps, the group plans to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and other charitable causes.