The City of VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 website says it provides 28 accessible parking spaces downtown, but a report for the Accessibility Working Group found there are closer to 24 B次元官网网址� and only half meet a basic level of accessibility.
B次元官网网址淚 was getting frustrated with the number of times IB次元官网网址檇 see people and things like dumpsters in the accessible parking spaces throughout downtown that arenB次元官网网址檛 supposed to be there,B次元官网网址� said David Willows, who wrote the report.
WillowsB次元官网网址檚 son is five years old, has cerebral palsy and requires a wheelchair, so the family uses an accessible van. ItB次元官网网址檚 not just the Willows family who are impacted by parking space designs. The Victoria Disability Resource Centre (VDRC), who issue accessible parking permits, said seven per cent of the cityB次元官网网址檚 population has an accessible parking permit. That number doesnB次元官网网址檛 include the 12 other municipalities in Greater Victoria.
After struggling almost every day to find accessible parking downtown, Willows took it upon himself to audit the cityB次元官网网址檚 parking and created a 53-page review.
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Armed with a map from the city website, Willows walked around downtown to find the 28 accessible parking spots only to find several had been taken out. One of those spots was B次元官网网址� ironically, he adds B次元官网网址� at the Ministry of Health building, but was removed when the were added.
B次元官网网址淭he City of Victoria is home to the provincial government as well as the federal government, and everyone has a right to access government. Accessible parking is a way for people who live in the area to come in and access government. Without it being designed properly, we are being denied a degree of access to our government,B次元官网网址� he said.
Of the accessible parking spots Willows could find, he said many had design flaws making them difficult or impossible for a wheelchair user to park there.
B次元官网网址淥ne of the worst ones was in front of the old bus depot on Douglas Street,B次元官网网址� Willows said. B次元官网网址淭here were two Canada Post letter boxes six inches from the curb, right where the side door of a van would be. You canB次元官网网址檛 use a ramp, you can even park a wheelchair beside the vehicle to lift someone out to do a transfer.B次元官网网址�
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Other issues Willows found included confusing signs, that looked like accessible parking could only be paid by coin. (Willows prefers using the cityB次元官网网址檚 parking app that allows you to pay from your smartphone.) HeB次元官网网址檇 look to see if the size of a parking space allowed access to a wheelchair in the back of a vehicle, if there was enough room to open doors fully and where a ramp onto the sidewalk was.
He was looking for design flaws, but Willows was also looking for solutions.
B次元官网网址淚 did this audit of all the parking spaces to figure out whatB次元官网网址檚 wrong with them and whatB次元官网网址檚 a cost-effective, quick way to fix them because no one wants to spend money. We want to affect change as quickly as possible too,B次元官网网址� Willows said.
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The Douglas Street parking was the worst, but it also the easiest to fix. Willows called Canada Post himself, and the company moved the boxes immediately. It took less than 10 minutes and cost nothing, Willows said.
He suggests raising the fines for people or companies using the accessible parking spaces without a permit. Painting curbs blue and making signs easier to see and understand would also help locate the parking spots.
B次元官网网址淲hen you canB次元官网网址檛 reliably get someplace to get your kid to an appointment, you have to take more time off work so you can find that parking,B次元官网网址� Willows said.
For now, his son is small enough he can be carried between their van and his wheelchair, but Willows hopes his son will one day be able to be mobile with less assistance. For adults with disabilities, access to parking can limit where they can work or where they can live.
B次元官网网址淲hen youB次元官网网址檙e caring for a child with a disability, youB次元官网网址檙e thinking of caring for them for your entire life and then having something set up to provide for them once youB次元官网网址檙e gone. This,B次元官网网址� Willows said, gesturing to his report, B次元官网网址渋s one piece of that for me.B次元官网网址�
WillowsB次元官网网址檚 full report on accessible parking in Victoria can be read on .
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@KeiliBartlett
keili.bartlett@blackpress.ca
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