Doorknobs banned due to safety and accessibility concerns

This is a serious story.
The Canadian city of Vancouver has banned doorknobs.
If you think I’m joking then have a look at today’s National Post.
2013-11-21_doorknobsFrom March next year all new single family houses and town homes built in the city must have handle levers instead of the traditional round door openers.
2013-11-21_knobsandlevers
The doorknob prohibition comes as part of an amendment package to the city’s Building By-law, legislation which the city claims is already “unique in the Province and also unusual in the rest of Canada.” If not the entire world.
The National Post reports:
Like a lot of initiatives put to council, the latest cluster of Building By-law amendments “went through very quietly” says Vancouver councillor Geoff Meggs, the mayor’s close ally. There is no hidden agenda, he insists. The by-law amendments aren’t reflective of some “lunatic interventionist” strategy or “red tape run amok,” he says.
“This is all about [enhancing] accessibility, and it’s something we’re going to keep doing. I’m not going to apologize for that,” says Mr. Meggs.

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