Watch the video above: Snow-covered sidewalks make simple tasks nearly impossible for wheelchair users. Mark McAllister reports.
TORONTO – Metres of snow and layers of ice can make it difficult for anyone to walk or drive through the city.
But for those confined to a wheelchair, piles of snow can keep them from accomplishing everyday tasks like going to work or getting groceries.
“So being out in the neighbourhood and being able to go shopping or walk my dog even poses a problem because I run into sidewalks like this where the snow is not shovelled or half-shovelled and my wheelchair gets stuck,” Bobbi Moore said in an interview Thursday. “If the wheels turn one way it could knock me on the street or it could get me stuck.”
Moore has cerebral palsy and fibromyalgia. She uses an electric wheelchair to get around and often times has trouble navigating sidewalks in the winter.
“I’ve had to be rescued countless times this year because like this sidewalk is only half done. The right side is done and the left side isn’t,” she said. “Basically from the beginning of maybe December when we got the first snowfall, it’s things like this. I can’t go out on my own.”
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Home and business owners are responsible for having the sidewalks outside of their home or facility shovelled. They also have to make sure it’s safe to walk on which could include laying down salt, sand or ash.
Homeowners are given 12 hours from a storm ending to shovel their sidewalks. If it’s not shovelled within that span of time, they can be fined $125 by a city bylaw officer.
Bill Adair, CEO of Spinal Cord Injury Ontario, said snow is a major problem for people in wheelchairs during the winter. He often sees snow piled up in accessible parking spots or piled high on sidewalks restricting wheelchair users from getting on the TTC.
“Well accessibility for people who use wheelchairs for mobility is an issue at the best of times. But then you throw in 15 to 20 centimetres of snow, it’s quite something, it’s quite challenging,” he said. “The plowing of the snow and the piling up of the snow is creating additional barriers and inaccessibility.”
He admitted that most businesses are more than happy to shovel the snow off ramps or have the snow moved once they’re made aware. His organization frequently calls businesses on behalf of its members who complain to them about piles of snow making the store or business inaccessible.
But Christine Sellinger says she will drive out of her way to avoid businesses that aren’t accessible year-round.
“It’s frustrating to have people pile their snow in accessible spots when those spots are there for a reason. People need them,” she said. “When places aren’t accessible or aren’t conscious of making that effort of making things accessible it doesn’t make me want to go back again.”
– With files from Mark McAllister
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