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Canada's war on doorknobs
加拿大門把手之戰
Knobless oblige
非旋不可
New building rules will help old folks—who now risk being eaten by bears
新建筑規定能幫上老家伙們—他們面臨著葬身熊腹的危險
IT IS rare for changes to a municipal building code to become headline news. But Vancouver's ban on doorknobs in all new buildings, which went into effect last month, is an exception. It has provoked a strong reaction from the door-opening public and set off a chain reaction across the country as other jurisdictions ponder whether to follow Vancouver's lead. The country is on tenterhooks.
市政建筑規章的修改很少能登上頭條。可是上個月在溫哥華生效的禁令卻是個例外。這一事件引發了開門群眾的強烈反應，全國各地也發生了連鎖反應，大家都開始仔細思考著要不要跟著溫哥華走。這個國家陷入了糾結的狀態。
The war on doorknobs is part of a broader campaign to make buildings more accessible to the elderly and disabled, many of whom find levered doorhandles easier to operate than fiddly knobs. Vancouver's code adds private homes to rules already in place in most of Canada for large buildings, stipulating wider entry doors, lower thresholds and lever-operated taps in bathrooms and kitchens.
在許多老殘人士看來，杠桿式的門把手比小破旋鈕好用得多；為了方便他們出入各式建筑物，一場大戰已經打響，而門把手之仗正是其中一役。溫哥華法令在加拿大廣義上的大型建筑物條例中添加了私人住宅一條，對寬門廳的門、低門檻、杠桿操作的廚浴水龍頭都作出了規定。
The rules have provoked grumbling about the nanny state, much of it from doorknob manufacturers. The Canadian Home Builders' Association (CHBA) complains that Vancouver, the only city in Canada with the power to determine its own building code (elsewhere it falls to provincial governments), changed the rules on its own, instead of asking for a revision of the national regulations, which would have triggered more detailed cost studies.
隨規章而至的是人們對于保姆政府的抱怨，而旋鈕制造商方面怨聲尤重。加拿大住宅建筑商協會（ CHBA ）埋怨說，溫哥華是加拿大唯一座有建筑物條例決定權的城市，現在它不去改國家規章，而是自改條例，這就需要再研究一番具體成本。
These complaints pale in comparison to a more sinister worry. True, elderly and disabled people find it easier to operate doors with handles. But so do bears. In British Columbia, bears have been known to scavenge for food inside cars—whose doors have handles, knob advocates point out. Pitkin County, Colorado, in the United States, has banned door levers on buildings for this very reason. One newspaper columnist in the pro-knob camp has noted that the velociraptors in “Jurassic Park” were able to open doors by their handles.
這些怨言在一份不祥的擔心前未免相形見絀。確實，老殘人士用起門把手來要方便得多。但熊也會方便。人們已經知道熊會進車覓食—車上是有把手的，旋鈕擁護者提出了這一點。美國科羅拉多州的皮特金縣因此禁止建筑物使用杠桿門。一位旋鈕派的報社專欄作家提到，《侏羅紀公園》里的伶盜龍就能扣動門把手開門。
Canadians are undeterred. Members of the municipal council in Halifax are considering asking their provincial government to follow Vancouver's example. So too are councillors in Pickering, east of Toronto. The provincial government in Manitoba is examining how the new rules will work in Vancouver. Philip Rizcallah, who manages the federal body responsible for the national code, says he would be open to considering the measure. So far no one has asked.
加拿大人并未氣餒。哈利法克斯市市政委員會正考慮倡議省政府效仿溫哥華市。多倫多東面的皮克靈市市政委員會也是這么想的。曼尼托巴省省政府有意觀察溫哥華新規的落實情況。負責的菲利普·瑞茲卡拉稱他愿意將該舉措納入考慮范疇。目前還沒有人提議。
It seems only a matter of time before someone steps forward. Much publicity has been given to the ban, which plays to Vancouver's offbeat reputation. “What are they smoking out there?” asks Gary Sharp of the CHBA. If further bans do go ahead, those living near the woods would be wise to invest in some sturdy locks before installing doorhandles.
看來向前邁步只是過一段時間的事了。溫哥華市利用自身不同尋常的聲譽，使這項禁令得到了廣泛宣傳。“他們在那兒耍什么把戲吶？”CHBA的加里·夏普問到。如果后續禁令出臺，住在森林附近的人們最好還是在裝門把手之前搞上幾把堅固的大鎖頭吧。譯者:王卓
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