Local restaurants and businesses around the University may not be easily handicap accessible.

The places in question include various restaurants and businesses on Wooster Street such as, Subway, Myles Pizza Pub and Sub Shop and The Student Book Exchange.

Fast Company, located on Ridge Street, also presents concerns for those who are handicapped.

The manager of Myles Pizza, Chris Gallagher, agrees that their handicap accessibility could benefit from some improvements. “It could be better, we have a step at our front and back entrance that a handicap person may have trouble getting over without help,” he said.

According to Gallagher, they don’t have a ramp either, but a handicap person, with help, would have no problem getting onto the sidewalk.

Myles Pizza has never had any complaints, but would like to see the sidewalk redone with ramps.

According to Steve Donnelloy, manager of the Student Book Exchange, he doesn’t think that his store is inaccessible.

“We don’t have a ramp to get onto the sidewalk, but we don’t need one because it is only an inch and a half step,” he said.

He also said that the doors and isles are wide enough for wheelchairs, but in the future he would like to see the front door widened.

However, Chris Geib, the owner of Fast Company, said that he does not believe that his store is handicap accessible because they have steps and no ramp.

“In six years we have never had a complaint about our stairs, but that could just be because handicap people decide not to come in here,” he said.

Geib is interested in making his store more handicap accessible but he was not sure if it is possible.

At press time, Subway refused to comment on the subject.

As for the University, many changes are taking place in order to accommodate students with disabilities.

In 1994, college campuses were asked to do a self evaluation and make a transition plan on the topic of handicap accessibility. According to Rob Cunningham, the University’s Disability Services director, in response to the self evaluation the University wanted to make some changes.

“We hired an architecture firm to look at the campus and show where it was possible to add things such as ramps, signs, automatic doors, etc.,” he said.

Cunningham said that the University prioritized according to which buildings were most used and made changes to them first. Each year Disability Services adds on to the campus, but the amount of additions made depends on funds.

According to Cunningham, the next thing he would like to see is wheelchair viewing for the stadium.

The inaccessible business in the area should be something that local businesses are concerned with.

“All business should have ways for everyone and anyone to get in and out of their store.”