Skip to content

Editorial: Towns not built with accessibility in mind

We are seeing many more people using mobility devices as time goes on
32050464_web1_230309-LCO-editorial-2-scooter_1
Robert Barron tries out a mobility scooter during the City of Duncan’s accessibility tour in 2016. (Citizen file)

Accessibility in our communities leaves something to be desired.

Most of us take for granted that we will be able to get where we want to go with relative ease. A walk to the coffee shop or the book store is accomplished without difficulty or even much thought.

But for an increasing number of people obstacles that they didn’t even notice five or 10 years ago loom large in everyday life.

Baby Boomers are now in their golden years, and due to the sheer numbers of this generation we are seeing many more people using mobility devices as time goes on.

These include walkers, scooters and wheelchairs along with canes and sometimes crutches.

Our towns and villages are not designed with these aides in mind.

For the most part sidewalks are narrow and some are severely slanted in places that pose a serious balance hazard.

Cracks in pavements and sidewalks that weren’t a big deal to a spry 60-year-old become more of a problem to an 85-year-old with diminished eyesight and a cane.

And that’s where there are sidewalks to start with.

A simple step up into a shop that wasn’t a problem in youth is a big impediment for arthritic knees, or someone in a wheelchair.

We just didn’t build our towns with the less than fully able bodied in mind, and haven’t done enough since to correct the oversight.

And then there’s the lack of public transit like buses and trains for people to even get in to access shopping if they live outside of the commercial core. While some will still be driving into their 90s, most won’t be, or at least shouldn’t be. Their lives shouldn’t have to become smaller because they don’t drive an individual automobile.

And that’s just seniors.

For those who live with physical challenges that have nothing to do with age the shortcomings of our community design will come as no surprise. There are children who cannot access playgrounds. Parks. Beaches.

The Baby Boomers have certainly driven a lot of change in their lifetimes, from school construction to fit their bulging numbers to a different view of retirement.

Perhaps they can be a catalyst for positive change here, advocating for more accessible spaces as the need hits them first hand.

Lake Cowichan council has talked about doing an accessibility tour of town, and the City of Duncan has done a similar exercise in the past, letting officials experience what it is like getting around in a wheelchair or using a walker.

We think such an eye-opener is a good first step.