Wheelchair Access Ramps

Since the Americans With Disability Act (ADA) came into force in 1990, many public buildings have had to make adaptations to accommodate people with disabilities, this includes the building or creating of wheelchair access ramps. In fact not only buildings have to consider people who use wheelchairs, events have to provide disabled access in certain instances.

Public events

If you are holding a public event there is some surety that at least some of the attendees will be in wheelchairs. Therefore, you will need to make provision for this and some forward planning is necessary. If this is the first event of its kind then you may not have access to wheelchair access ramps so you may need to consider the option of access ramp rental. If this is factored into the budget from the start then no nasty surprises will catch you out.  

There are a variety of access ramps for rental available and even if you are uncertain about the type then the expert advice offered by the rental firm will help. After all, it is in their interests to help you in all they can. Something sturdy will obviously stand you in good stead and if there is going to be lots of wheelchairs then you will need to ensure the wheelchair access ramps are strong enough to withstand a good deal of pressure by the visitors and guests. Ensure the wheelchair access ramps are of a sufficient width so as to accommodate wider wheelchairs too. 

Once you have rented wheelchair access ramps, there is often the option to buy the ramp. So if the event is a success buying the wheelchair access ramps and storing them may be a good option for the future. Generally, the rental price can be deducted from the purchase price too.

Temporary solutions

Rented wheelchair access ramps can be a very cost effective as a temporary solution. Accidents happen and sometimes these can be debilitating and impair or affect walking ability confining an individual to a wheelchair for an indefinite period of time. Buying wheelchair access ramps for such unpredictable events over a short period of time, which may only be a few weeks, can be quite costly, so rental is a much better solution. You can obtain portable wheelchair access ramps that will enable you to take these with you if needed to enable the injured person to access and egress an auto. Before renting wheelchair access ramps, ensure you have the correct measurements. Although portable ramps come in a range of sizes and materials, they also come in a range of prices too and it makes no sense renting wheelchair access ramps that are much larger than your actual needs.

In the cases of people who have been confined to wheelchairs for whatever reason and need a permanent access ramp building to their homes, rental wheelchair access ramps can act as a temporary solution until the permanent ramp can be built. Different criteria may be decided when choosing an access ramp for this reason, as the ramp will be taking more usage, depending on how long it will take to build the permanent one.