Accessibility - How Do We Measure Up?

I took a walk with a friend of mine, well, to be exact, I walked and he rode his scooter.  We were downtown Sudbury on a beautiful summer day and one would think it would be the most scooter friendly area of the city.  One would be wrong!

As we walked along the approximate 2½ blocks we travelled, we encountered broken and/or uneven sidewalks, chewed up streets and then as if that wasn’t enough, at one corner the access curb was completely missing, causing a detour of another ½ block circuit to find an accessible spot to cross the street and get back onto our desired route.

I must say, I find scooters fascinating and so empowering to the individual who has difficulty walking, yet, here we were in the downtown core and there had not been enough thought or provision given to those specific needs.  Every city should have accessible mini motorways for our confined citizens.  My companion said he often found it smoother riding on the streets.  How dangerous is that!

Many of us will never learn what it’s like to be restricted in this fashion, however, that shouldn’t deter us from doing all we can to learn what needs to be done and get it done for those who are wheel-bound. 

Prior to our little walk we had been at a resource centre, listening to the life stories of a few of those who deal with physical challenges of all sorts.   Some were born with, Spinal Bifida, Down’s syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Blindness, Deafness or some other challenge.  Some become challenged later in life, as my friend had, through a combination of health issues.  What was common with all was the determination not to be limited intellectually by their physical limitations?  These are everyday people wanting to live an everyday life, but sadly, too often we see them as incapable, expensive or unintelligent.  And, also sadly, sometimes they end up seeing themselves as that too!

The Accessibilities for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) has a projected date of January 1, 2025 to have the entire province of Ontario accessible to all.  Now, 2025 is quite a ways off, however, the customer service section of the AODA became law in January 2008 with a January 2010 deadline for all public sector organizations to become compliant and finally January 2012 for all other businesses with at least one employee to become compliant.  How would your business fair?