Disability lift

[marge26]

lurking for about a year, first time poster.
I bring toddler (2.5) to sports-type activity every Friday afternoon. Baby always come along and watches from her pram. It takes place in a church/school hall building with multiple floors. The particular sports hall we need to get to is on a lower level so each week we use the disability lift to get down.
Today the lift wasn't working so I asked the guy on reception if it was broken. He said it was just turned off so school kids don't mess around with it. He turned it on for us but as he did so he said "it's a disability lift, it's not for prams". I just said that I didn't know how else we would get down. And he said ok and off we went.
But I feel so annoyed that he challenged me on using it. From a purely practical view I'd need to bring toddler down and leave him at the bottom of the stairs alone, then take baby out of pram and leave her down the stairs on her own (on the floor?) and then take pram apart and bring it down (maybe one or two more trips needed). It seems completely unnecessary. We weren't preventing anyone else (with an obvious disability) from using the lift.
I also think he should be aware that not all disabilities are visible and my baby or I could have needed to use the lift for disability-related reasons. (We are lucky that this is not the case).
So AIBU in using the disabled lift each week? (The are a few other mums who also have prams and use it too) and WIBU to complain about the reception guy?
Thanks for reading!

Yes but he doesn't have a wheelchair and the extra distances having to he waked in order to find staff to turn on would be making his life harder surely?

if people with disabilities are struggling to get about then what's the point in the lift if they aren't able to get to use it.

ultimately it only benefits those in a wheelchair who perhaps find it easier to get around than someone who struggles to walk bit didnt use a chair iyswim

As a wheelchair user I really don't see the problem with allowing parents with pushchairs use the lift too, it's a right pain if you have to wake the baby, I don't mind waiting if they get there first. In fact it would cause me more of a problem if the lift was locked and I'd tried to make it in on foot with my walking sticks because then I'd have to walk further to go and ask for the thing to be unlocked which would be rather painful. I think they should just stick a big sign on the lift saying it's only for disabled people and people with pushchairs and start telling kids off for messing about with it.

As a person with disabilities I say YABVVU

It never ceases to anger me how many people forget how lucky they are.

It may be a hassle for you to do, but at least you are able to do it.

I don't think it can be compared to a disabled toilet.

The aim of the organisation should be to promote accessibility for all users. Perhaps they could look at having activities for young children on the ground floor if they don't want parents using the life? Some prams are too big or heavy to be safely bumped up and down stairs (particularly those used by children with disabilities or twin buggies). I could easily bump a maclaren down, but I'd struggle with anything heavier.

And it's unreasonable for a receptionist to judge who has a qualifying disability.

I don't think the op is being unreasonable to expect to be able to use the lift. She wasn't denying a disabled person the use of it. She was simply making her life easier (and safer) without any effect on anyone else.

Thanks everyone for the replies. I hadn't expected so many so quickly!
It's given me perspective and I can see that I would be irrational to complain about the guy on reception who was just doing his job really.
To respond to some of the points made...the lift has never been locked before. Perhaps they have just started a more strict enforcement of the rule.
I should point out that there is never a queue for this lift. Of course, the last thing I would want is to be responsible for overuse & breaking it and denying use to those with disabilities.
I do understand that as I'm not disabled i'm not entitled to use the lift and Would see myself as someone who tends to "follow the rules" but (unsurprisingly!) I'm inclined to agree with those (*Giles, Nanny, Crisp, Cigars, Wonky) who mention general accessibility and making it easier for all those who may struggle otherwise to access the hall. We use it for about 30seconds which saves a lot more hassle. I don't bump the pram down Devilish as its a full flight of stairs and doesn't feel that safe! Unfortunately a sling is no good as DD is really heavy and anyway the parents/carers are required to be hands-on with the toddlers during the activity, lots of running around etc. Hence the reason I leave baby in her pram with a few toys *Howabout, and it's only for half an hour so I haven't felt too guilty about that!
**Barbarian - thanks I think I will speak with the activity organisers as there are other parents/carers with prams who this will affect. It probably is worth bring to their attention.

another thing to think about is if there's a class on do they expect the disabled person to miss it starting because reception is busy on the phone or dealing with sign ups and there's no one free to ask to turn it on.

Well I'm not able to bump a buggy down a full flight of stairs, let alone get it back up again.

Thanks for your reply StillFrankie. I did mention in my op that I realise how lucky we are not be affected by disabilities.

If you can't bump it down (& to go back up you bump it backwards - you above pulling it - it's easier than getting down) then can you not help each other? One end each & carry? TBH I'd always have bumped rather than faffed around with a disability lift.

I'm Completely able bodied and can't bump my buggy up/down the stairs safely is it my
Buggy?

Anyway Yanbu. It's ridiculous and discriminatory against people transporting babies. I would complain.

Actually, I think YANBU.

I don't think a lift is the same as a disabled toilet or a disabled parking space. There is never a decent excuse for taking up a facility intended for and needed by people with disabilities alone. But a lift is a lift. Is there even such a thing as a disability lift? I thought lifts were for anybody who needed to use them.

Where are these "disability lifts" ?

every shop or cafe or shopping centre or sports stadium just have "lifts"

if a venue holds classes or activities aimed at children then how the hell are people meant to attend if they are on second floors of buildings and there's no lift?

who decides if someone's disabled enough to use it anyway?

and surely it's far quicker to just press a button and wait than it is to go to reception, wait fir people to get round to serving you

I have never seem a lift big enough fir just 1 person either. wheelchair and buggies could fit together quite happily

Osolea, are you kidding me? Are you seriously suggesting that the OP carries her baby and holds her toddlers hand rather than just using a pram - something that thousands of parents in this country do every day? It provides a means of transporting your child safely. There is a lift available at the facility (that may be a long way from her home). Why would she not use a pram? Do you think it is safe to carry a baby in your arms, hold the hand of a toddler, carry a bag, and hope that you don't have to let go of either of them during your journey?
Get a grip!

Where are these "disability lifts" ?

Where premises are on two levels - say 3 or 4 feet difference, there are platforms which allow wheelchair users to transfer between the two.

It was a lift like this the local scum vandalised at our library.

I think that if there are no other lifts in the building, then you are fine. The alternative for,you is highly impractical and it's far safer for,you to use the lift, then do multiple trips up and down the stairs.

I recently went into a building that is a huge school. It houses nursery, stay and play, main stream primary and sn primary, plus training centre, specialist therapy and a mountain of other things. All spaced out over a few floors..
I was really lucky to get a full tour and was amazed.
Anyway I digress.
To access to different floors there are a few lifts. The upkeep cost is staggering and they need to keep the lifts operational. So they've had to lock them down. When it was a free for all, at least once a month a lift was breaking down. The repair cost etc came out of the buildings budget. It reached the point of restricting use or cutting a service. Not an easy decision.

By all means.
Complain. Just like several did when these were locked down. But it might mean that the service
You are using might be cut to pay for the costs of the lift.
With funding being cut, places are looking at ways to reduce costs.

Yes Lurking it's the type of lift you describe except that it goes from one level of the building to the other (equivalent to a full flight of stairs). The type where you have to keep pushing the button or else the lift stops. I thought it was abit odd that they don't just have a "regular" sort of lift.
I feel somewhat reassured by the replies from those of you who agree I haven't been completely unreasonable in using this lift! Thanks

The lift in our local library is a 'disability lift' - in as much as it is designed for a wheelchair user and a carer - these are usually lifts which cover a short distance (there is a short flight of stairs), and which have something like a button/lever which has to be held to move.

It has a sign, however, saying that it is for members of the public who would struggle with the stairs, including parent's with buggies.

As PP says, I think the OP might mean a wheelchair lift. As a wheelchair user, I know how often these break down and how tricky things can get when they do. TBH, I do think that the OP is being unreasonable using it, as the amount of use increases the likelihood of it breaking down, but I don't know what the alternative would be.

There is one of those lifts in my local homebase- they're awful so I don't think anyone would use them unless they had tO. There is also one in my local white company which is obviously for prams too as the little white company is based upstairs. They're just a cheap lift.

Thanks bloodyteenagers, I admit I hadn't considered that point of view. (That facility sounds fantastic btw)

YANBU I need to use accessibility lifts, as I have a mobility problem. I consider them to be for people who cannot use the stairs for whatever reason
As there's never any queue for them, then OP isn't getting in anyone's way. I suggest approaching the management, and getting them to agree that they are for anyone who would otherwise be unable to get to another floor, and to train the staff accordingly. I can understand them turning them off to stop them being mucked about with by kids, as long as there is someone close by on call to unlock them as soon as kids have gone, or if someone needs them in the meanwhile.

YANBU.

The accessible lift should be available for anybody who cannot easily and safely use the stairs. This should certainly include disabled people but it doesn't make sense to exclude other people without disabilities who also have reason to use it.

Using accessible toilets for reasons other than disability is a completely different matter because in most cases there are other toilets available. In this case there is only one lift so it is the equivalent of there only being one toilet available in a building - in that case where the sole toilet was accessible it would be used by everybody who needed it regardless of if they had a disability.

I would be very reluctant to bump a pram down a flight of stairs and back up again because it feels very unsafe to me. Particularly if I was also dealing with a toddler. DS1 at 2.5 could not be reliably trusted to use stairs safely and I wouldn't have wanted to be in a position where I couldn't grab him if he started to lose his balance or fall.

But I can see the point about restricting use of the sort of lift described. They do look less reliable than a standard lift.

I think if I was going to complain about being told not to use the lift with a buggy, I'd be complaining more about the leisure facility putting an activity aimed at toddlers in a sports hall where you need to use stairs or a lift to access it. It's entirely predictable that some of the toddlers will have younger siblings in prams accompanying them, and by putting the activity off the ground floor and putting the lift off limits, they're making the activity less accessible for the families.
Also - if they're turning the lift off to prevent misuse, is there an easy way for a wheelchair user, say, in the basement to alert reception when they want to go back up to the ground floor and leave the building? Or do they have to flag down a passerby and ask them to go and send the receptionist over to the lift?