The International Symbol of Access is an important icon for the disabled community, but a poor representation of how active they need to be in order to handle the struggles they face traveling around the city. If the icon were a person, they would look staid and sedate while awkwardly sitting upright in a wheelchair.
That has led to a movement to redesign the symbol to end that stigma of people with disabilities. One leading design being promoted by The Accessible Icon Project has caught on in New York State, which will require agencies to start using the active symbol under a law signed in July.
But in the city, the Department of Transportation has already started to incorporate the symbol in its facilities and has been re-striping parking lots.
