qathet residents express concern about facilities access in parks for people with disabilities

qathet Regional District directors were recently apprised of the difficulty for people with mobility issues to access facilities in regional parks.

At the April 15 committee of the whole meeting, Dave and Marg Hodgins outlined their findings on accessibility, having visited Palm Beach and Craig regional parks. Marg said she was expressing concerns as they continue their pursuit of improved access for people with disabilities.

She said after they made a presentation to the qRD committee of the whole regarding accessibility on March 11, they went away feeling excited about some of the changes that have been made. She said, however, after going and checking out some qRD recreational sites, they were “quite disappointed” to find out while there is a wheelchair accessible outhouse at Palm Beach, and a walkway around the lower washrooms, the idea of them being accessible is pointless if people can’t get to them safely or easily with mobility devices.

“The idea these improvements were worked upon is a great starting point but they are still not usable,” said Marg.

Dave said if qRD wants to call something accessible according to BC Building Code standards, a building can be built to accessibility standards, but if an accessibility issue stops a person from getting to the building, “what is the point?”

“I can build a wheelchair accessible hut on the top of Tin Hat Mountain, but if you can’t get the wheelchair to it, what is the point?” asked Dave. “I found that at Palm Beach and I found that at Craig Park.”

Dave said at Palm Beach, the gradient down to the beach is quite severe, so unless there is a wheelchair parking spot down beside the main facility, it is unusable even if it is made accessible. He said at Craig Park, the location picked for the outhouse involves a steep hill.

“It’s in the wrong location,” said Dave. “It should have been up beside the picnic tables if you want people to enjoy the park.”

Dave said City of Powell River is going to be putting a walkway to Willingdon Beach, so it can be done. He also said the all-terrain vehicle club and Bomb Squad built a wheelchair accessible trail by Powell River Recreation Complex.

Dave said he is asking for an advisory group comprised of the city, Tla’amin Nation and qRD to start looking at the small items that can be done to get people in wheelchairs and walkers into local infrastructure. He said he is also advocating that if locations cannot be made truly accessible, don’t call it something that is accessible.

Marg said realistically, it’s not going to happen everywhere, but if a few places could be upgraded and made totally accessible, she would be happy.

Committee chair and Electoral Area D director Sandy McCormick said after the Hodgins’ previous presentation, staff mentioned locations that were accessible in the regional district; the Hodgins have since been to those locations and they are saying they are not accessible. She said she wanted to ask staff for a comment regarding accessibility at Palm Beach and Craig Park.

Manager of operational services Patrick Devereaux said with regard to Palm Beach, there is a gate across the road to the beach and the qRD issues keys for it so people who do have mobility issues can sign out a key and drive down to the lower part of the park. He said that has been a practice for many years. The building, he added, was constructed in the 1960s.

“We have tried to retrofit it, but it does not meet the CSA [Canadian Standards Association] standard, but it’s close,” said Devereaux.

Retrofits difficult, says qRD manager

Devereaux said with regional parks, all new construction will be accessible. He said qRD has a hard time retrofitting because the buildings don’t allow it.

City director George Doubt said the suggestion for a community advisory group is a sensible one and a good one to take advantage of peoples’ knowledge of the situation. He said there is a regional parks service so having a regional accessibility advisory committee seems like a good idea.

McCormick said qRD had agreed to raise the issue at the next meeting of the regional district, city and Tla’amin (C3) meeting and she thinks it would be very appropriate.

Electoral Area A director Patrick Brabazon said he thinks this is a good cause for an advisory committee that covers the whole regional district.

Electoral Area B director Mark Gisborne thanked the Hodgins for all of the work they are doing. He said he was absolutely in favour of the creation of a committee. He made a motion that the committee of the whole recommend the regional board direct staff to bring forward a report for the creation of a disabilities access advisory committee.

Corporate officer Michelle Jones said she believed the issue was coming forward at the C3 meeting. Gisborne said he didn’t see the need to wait for the C3 meeting for a staff report.

McCormick said since it is going to the C3 meeting it may be premature to allocate staff time.

Brabazon said he did not want to preempt the opinion of the C3 meeting, which would be rude and inconsiderate.

City director George Doubt said he is in favour of a regional advisory committee to advise on accessibility and didn’t think a motion for a staff report was necessary.

A motion for a staff report was defeated so the matter will only be going to the C3 meeting for discussion.