Accessibility on the agenda as 4-legged advocate heads to Edmonton city hall

An Edmonton woman and her service dog took their mission to make Edmonton more accessible to city hall on Thursday.

Marla Smith and her Rottweiler, Kuno, were invited to meet Mayor Amarjeet Sohi and help outline the hurdles they face in the city.

Smith is an accessibility advocate hoping to see change within her lifetime in the city. She said working with Kuno helps people see her perspective more easily.

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On Friday morning, Smith took Global News through a number of winter challenges found just steps outside her apartment. She said she shared similar concerns with Sohi during the meeting.

It started with difficulties crossing the street near her house, due to melting windrows. She also noted how a snowy back alley nearby that intersects with a sidewalk gets packed down by crews and creates deep ruts. Smith said she wouldn’t go through the alley alone, in case she gets stuck.

“You can see here where the city comes and clears the bus stop,” Smith said as she traveled along a shrinking sidewalk. “All of a sudden it starts to get really narrow.”

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Smith also discussed her hopes to see accessible housing changes with the mayor.

“It took me a year of hunting to find one accessible apartment,” she said. “In 2022 we don’t have normalized accessible housing for people. It’s an extreme challenge here.”

Sohi said his conversation with Smith helped him better understand how an individual with a disability would navigate Edmonton.

“When we are developing policy, accessibility is kind of an afterthought. The involvement of people with disabilities into consultation is an afterthought,” Sohi said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "When we are developing policy, accessibility is kind of an afterthought. The involvement of people with disabilities into consultation is an afterthought," Sohi said.

He said he believes the city can make changes to snow and ice removal soon.

“As long as we have the proper policy tools available and the resources available,” he said. “That’s something we must do when we discuss the policy improvements.”

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The City of Edmonton’s Andrew Grant said an “anomaly” of freeze-thaw cycles and the incremental snowfall made it ideal conditions for icy walks and other areas.

“I think it was an incredibly difficult year for people who have mobility challenges,” said Grant, the general supervisor of infrastructure field operations. “Having safe and passable sidewalks was a challenge, not only for the City of Edmonton but for residents.”

“Our crews added abrasives and sodium chloride where we could to maintain those sidewalks,” he said. “When we are looking at alternatives or restructuring in the spring with city council, better preparing the operation for addressing freezing rain will be part of the conversation.

“It wasn’t perfect. But it wasn’t perfect conditions either. For what we had and what we were up against we did very well for our organization.”

Grant said his team has been working with accessibility committees to better understand where challenges are and will provide a report to city council.

“The more accessible we can make places, the more inclusive our community becomes,” Smith said. “It’s really hard to feel like you belong in a place when you can’t get in them.”

Smith and Kuno have been invited to present to councilors when the snow and ice report comes to council in April.