Not everyone enjoys the freedom to manoeuvre the District of Sechelt's (DOS) sidewalks, shops and parks with the ease of an able bodied person, and about a dozen of those people showed up to share their knowledge and hopes for change at the first public meeting on the Accessibility Challenge last Saturday.
The Sechelt accessibility advisory committee, set up by the District, must now use information gathered at the meeting to select two or more projects to improve accessibility in Sechelt. The projects will be paid for by $20,000 in funding grants from 2010 Legacies Now and the Union of British Columbia Municipalities as well as partnerships with local businesses and community groups. The committee is also spending an additional $20,000 in donated funds to run the challenge.
Andre Böel, community planner for the District, said the committee will have to narrow down dozens of options to the two that are the most feasible and "will give us the most bang for the buck."
Böel said the committee was scheduled to meet Wednesday, but it was still too soon to know which projects the committee would go after.
"That's what we have to figure out this week and next week," he added.
After presentations by April Struthers and Christien Kaaij, two consultants hired to work on the challenge, attendees were able to list what their biggest challenges were when it came to getting around Sechelt. One of the most commonly mentioned problems was sidewalks that are uneven and sometimes impassible. Wheelchair access within the Sechelt Aquatic Centre, moving around inside businesses and access to park space also topped the list of concerns.
On a large poster board, attendees, with and without disabilities, were able to write in what they saw as "wish list" items for improvement.
One person wrote "Kinnikinnick Elementary School put in a barrier-free playground with a curb around the area, so it is not accessible."
Also in attendance was John Gillespie, a consultant for Landwise Consultants Inc. and member of the Coast Community Builders' Association (CCBA). Gillespie said the CCBA shares many common goals with the committee, and there were many ways they could help each other.
"I just heard about the committee about a week ago. We wanted to see how we can participate and help. Most of our members are builders and developers. If you actually design properly right from the start, from a development perspective, it's just a good building practice," he said.
Gillespie said he will report back to the CCBA, which is now taking great interest in the Accessibility Challenge as a potential partner who could donate more funding or in-kind labour and materials to work on the projects.
Representing the CCBA is only part of the reason Gillespie was there, though. He has a personal stake in accessibility.
"For me, personally, it's my pet peeve when I see a community that is not accessible to my mother. Everything they're asking for makes a more people-friendly community," he said, adding he would like to see accessibility ramps added to the Rotary Park by the Sechelt pier.
