VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 Mayor Lisa Helps commends the B次元官网网址渢remendous amount of workB次元官网网址� David Willows put into his 53-page audit of the cityB次元官网网址檚 accessible on-street parking.
B次元官网网址淭o have engaged, active citizens like David Willows write a report, bring these things to our attention, to have our engineers taking him seriously and to have him at the same time working with other entities is amazing and thatB次元官网网址檚 how we solve problems,B次元官网网址� Helps said.
Willows, the father of a child with disabilities, gave the council and engineering department of the City of Victoria his findings B次元官网网址� that only half of the allocated accessible parking downtown was actually accessible B次元官网网址� as well as some suggestions for improvement. Willows said he gave them a copy of his report back in April, and although he received a positive response, he hasnB次元官网网址檛 seen any changes.
Helps said this is because the city is developing an accessibility framework. In the 2018 budget, Helps said the city allocated money to hire a consultant for the framework. In the councilB次元官网网址檚 last term, an accessibility reserve fund was created, adding $250,000 every year to be used for improving accessibility.
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B次元官网网址淚t will look not only at accessible parking, but how we can make city facilities and public spaces more accessible to people with a range of abilities. That work is currently underway and is well supported and inspired in some ways by David WillowsB次元官网网址檚 report,B次元官网网址� Helps said.
B次元官网网址淩ight now thereB次元官网网址檚 about $750,000 in it, and that is used to draw down on a yearly basis so as weB次元官网网址檙e making improvements in the public realm, weB次元官网网址檙e also making accessibility improvement. Then accessibility becomes part of the work we do in the fabric of the city, not the side project that might get done one day,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 think that is a significant commitment that council made and will continue to make toward accessibility improvement.B次元官网网址�
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The framework isnB次元官网网址檛 available yet, but council is expecting to see a draft in late 2018 or early 2019. Helps said the engineering department is looking at WillowsB次元官网网址檚 report to see what they can implement while the accessibility framework is developed, particularly the existing parking spaces like WillowsB次元官网网址檚 examined.
B次元官网网址淛ust like all cities across the country, weB次元官网网址檙e trying to retrofit a city that was built without any concern at all for people with accessibility challenges,B次元官网网址� Helps said. B次元官网网址淔or example, if you are walking down the sidewalk, thereB次元官网网址檚 literally a hydro pole right in the middle of it. Cities were not designed to take into account people with accessibility challenges, and so itB次元官网网址檚 a really big project to retrofit a city.B次元官网网址�
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@KeiliBartlett
keili.bartlett@blackpress.ca
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