LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Breakfast at McDonald's is one of life's simple pleasures for Karen Cortes. But the satisfaction of a sausage, egg and cheese McGriddle, and the sweetness of an iced hazelnut coffee, were soured for the Las Vegas local after a recent visit to the valley's newest McDonald's.
"I noticed it right away. As soon as we parked, I said, 'This isn't right! This can't be right!'"
Cortes suffers from sciatica. She's got a handicapped placard in her car and can't walk very far.
"It's very, very painful, extremely painful down my leg, down my knee. I have to walk with a cane."
It's typically not much of an issue.
"Most of the McDonald's that we've been to have the handicapped spaces right in front of the door."
But at the location that just opened in January, on Skye Canyon Park Drive in the northwest valley, the mobile pick-up spots—where customers don't even get out of their cars—are just steps from the front door. However, the handicapped spots are about 30 feet away.
"There's five spaces for the mobile pick-up and then there's two spaces at the very end, away from the entrance, for the handicapped," Cortes said.
When she saw that, she questioned a manager.
"I said, 'What's with this set up?' And she said, 'I don't know. That's the way they designed it,'" Cortes told me.
She asked that manager if she had a phone number for the McDonald's corporate office.
"And she's like, 'No. I don't but you can look it up on Google.' And I thought, really?!"
Feeling like she was getting the run-around, she contacted Channel 13.
"I remembered 'Darcy, what's the deal?' And I thought, I'm gonna send this to her."
I also got a little bit of a run-around from McDonald's.
When I asked about the layout of the parking lot, their public relations team put off providing a response for days and then asked for even more time to answer what should be simple questions.
"Yes," Cortes said. "That's the run-around."
McDonald's USA did not answer our question about why the parking lot was designed with curbside pick-up spots closer to the entrance than handicapped spots. They did not answer whether that's common at other McDonald's locations and they did not address Cortes' concerns.
"They put the handicapped people low on the totem pole," Cortes said. "They have the Ronald McDonald House Charities. You'd think they would be more concerned about handicapped people than they are."
The only response we got was an e-mailed statement, saying McDonald's restaurants, which are franchised and company operated, use "site plans ... developed in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Once restaurant construction is complete, McDonald's hires a third-party certification company that reviews the restaurant to ensure ADA compliance."
We were unable to verify that ourselves because McDonald's did not respond when we asked for the name of that third-party certification company.
We showed Cortes' pictures of the parking situation to Las Vegas disability advocate and architect Hank Falstad, who worked for 17 years designing ADA-compliant buildings before founding Access Advocates.
In Falstad's opinion, the parking at the Skye Canyon Park Drive McDonald's is in violation of the ADA. He bases that on language from the federal law which reads in part, "Accessible parking spaces must be located on the shortest accessible route to the accessible entrance."
The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice enforces ADA compliance. A spokesperson declined to comment on the McDonald's parking lot but did suggest that Cortes file a formal complaint so the agency can investigate further.
"What message do you want McDonald's to hear from you as a long-time patron," I asked Cortes.
"Do something about it! Fix it! It's not right! You have to have more compassion for your handicapped customers."