HARTFORD, Conn. — The ubiquitous handicap symbol that marks parking spaces, building entrances and restrooms around the world is getting an update, a modernization that emphasizes ability rather than disability.
Yet, the restyled logo has been rejected by some who favor the familiar rigid stick-figure design, which has become one of the most recognizable in the world over the past 40 years.
Adoption of the new International Symbol of Accessibility — with a figure leaning forward in a wheelchair — has been piecemeal: New York adopted it last year, and Connecticut could soon.
But the Federal Highway Administration rejected requests to allow “alternative dynamic designs” for traffic signs and pavement markings. And the International Organization for Standardization has argued against the new design, citing the universal recognition of the original one.
Some activists believe the new symbol implies prejudice toward people with serious disabilities.
“The new symbol seems to say that independence has everything to do with the body, which it isn’t,” said Cathy Ludlum, a Connecticut disability rights activist.
One of the artists who designed the new symbol, Sara Hendren, said that kind of independence is “precisely what we want this thing to represent.”
