The Similkameen News Leader
Editorial
DIDN'T ACCESS MEAN EASY TO GET TO?
June 5, 2007
We participated in Accessibility Awareness Day on May 31st.
It basically put able-bodied members of Town Council in wheelchairs and sent them off on a short tour of downtown from the perspective of someone who cannot walk.
We've tripped on the odd sidewalk wheelchair ramp before, but thought it was because we didn't lift our feet up high enough.
In a wheelchair some of those dips to a painted crosswalk take a little skill to navigate. Aside from the fact that each one of them actually feeds a wheelchair user into traffic, the curbing on some of them turns the easy access to a crosswalk into a virtual speed bump to the crosswalk.
We doubt that has anything to do with why the ramps are angled to send wheelchairs into traffic.
Many downtown sidewalks are raised just high enough that if you can't get up a ramp from a crosswalk, you're not going to get into any of the buildings on that block. Add to this the fact that some buildings have access to their front door, but include a step up into their business and you aren't going inside either.
Maybe you really didn't have to pay that bill today, anyway.
Maybe you could just throw it into the lobby the next time the door opens and hope they can figure it out.
Maybe you weren't all that hungry today. You could always call for delivery tonight.
Maybe you really didn't need to check the mail on the weekend. The junk mail will still be there Monday when you can gain access using the ramp and cutting through the lobby then. It's a good thing your mailbox is just within reach!
Maybe you'll just take your own bags shopping next time for groceries.
Maybe you'll just take your cell phone downtown with a list of numbers of where you're going so you can call the next place you need to go to let them know you'll meet them outside and they can hand you the items you plan to purchase and they can take your money from you and bring you back your change because the debit machine cord won't go out to the front door.
Maybe the next time you go downtown you'll just sit outside the office and knock on the window until George or Brenda brings you your paper.
Accessibility Awareness Day was a great idea and we think it should take place on a regular basis and produce a progress report each time. It should also expand to include downtown business owners. A half dozen or so of them at a time in wheelchairs may help speed the process of accessibility up to a point where everyone has access to everything downtown.
And it might even be a fun way to educate a few of us on the fact that people in wheelchairs also carry wallets and are likely to use them in your business if they can only get inside.
