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<br /> Council to hold an "As If Day," This activity allows the non-disabled to <br /> experience what it is like to be disabled for a single day, Mr, Peter said he <br />e would like to persuade City Council members to spend a day experiencing what <br /> it would be like to be wheelchair-bound, blind, or mute, <br /> Mr, Peter said that the commission would like to be involved in destination- <br /> point activities involving the disabled. He said that due to the foresight of <br /> Lane Transit District in installing wheelchair 1 ifts, exce 11 ent programs <br /> offered through the Un i vers i ty of Oregon, and the presence of Mobi 1 i ty <br /> International, Eugene had positiDned itself to be the place in the world to <br /> visit if you are disabled and wish to experience yourself as minimally <br /> inconvenienced, He cited San Diego as a city which has acknowledged that <br /> there are large numbers of disabled persons looking for places to go where <br /> they can be as "mainstream" as possible and has marketed itself accordingly, <br /> Mr, Peter said he had a vision of Eugene as a place where disabled persons <br /> could visit or live and enjoy as normal a life as possible, <br /> Ms, Wooten said that in her opinion the single strongest effect of the <br /> Commission on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was the level and change <br /> of consciousness in persons parking in handicapped spaces, She felt that the <br /> work done by the commission had affected the community's behavior. <br /> Mr, Peter said he wished to express his happiness with the quality and <br /> competence of the staff support the Commission on the Rights of the Disabled <br /> and Presidents Council had received frDm Intergovernmental Relations, He said <br /> that the change had given the commissiDns a new sense of vitality and had led <br /> to the human rights program being taken more seriously, <br />e Mayor Obie said that the public sector is more likely to retrofit restrooms, <br /> create curb cuts, and widen doorways than the private sector. He was not sure <br /> whether to ascribe this to public pressure or to the availablity of funds, He <br /> asked Mr, Peter if the Commission on the Rights of the Disabled could catalog <br /> financial sources, such as loans and low-interest loans, for the pri vate <br /> sector to take advantage of when attempting to become handicapped-accessible, <br /> Mr. Peter said that the list would be short, There are some low-interest <br /> loans and perhaps some outright grants available but the major incentive for <br /> businesses to become accessible continues to be the tax incentive. He said <br /> that he would be speaking to the Downtown Commission the next morning about <br /> economic advantages in Eugene becoming a destination point with the disabled, <br /> He planned on talking with the commission regarding the tie-in Df accessiblity <br /> issues with the Centralized Retail Management concept and incentives the City <br /> could develop tD offer tD private businesses. He said it was difficult for <br /> businesses to see why they should become accessible when they do not expect to <br /> have many disabled customers, <br /> Mr. Hansen asked Mr. Peter about the curb ramps and asked whether the slope <br /> was reasonable or difficult for the disabled to go up and down. Mr. Peter said <br /> that Risk Management is interested in this subject, particularly around ramps <br /> placed off a steep incline near traffic, He said he thought it was a variable <br /> thing from ramp to ramp, <br />e MINUTES--City CDuncil Dinner Meeting September 8, 1986 Page 4 <br />