Paralyzed man who wants to eat at a Macon Firehouse Subs is suing its property owners. Why?
A Georgia man is asking a federal judge to require a restaurant at a Macon shopping center to become more accessible to the disabled.
John Belknap, who is quadriplegic, has filed suit against the Prado Center LLC, owner of property that houses Prado at Forsyth shopping center. The issue is the Firehouse Subs there, which Belknap says fails to meet the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Belknap describes himself as both a consumer and an advocate for the disabled.
In the suit, he says there are specific issues with the number of disabled parking spaces, their signage and their placement at the center. He also says nearby access ramps are made with pebbled stone and have vertical rises more than a quarter inch high, a violation of ADA guidelines, and that no tables outside the restaurant are made for the disabled to eat.
Belknap is asking a federal judge to find Prado Center in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and its related accessibility guidelines, stop the center from continuing its “discriminatory practices” and order repairs to the property.
“The removal of the physical barriers, dangerous conditions and ADA violations alleged herein is readily achievable and can be accomplished and carried out without significant difficulty or expense,” the lawsuit said.
A lawsuit represents only one side of a legal argument.
The Telegraph has reached out to the Prado Center for comment, but so far has not heard back. As of Thursday, Prado Center had not responded to the suit.