Findings from the 100 Mile House's Accessibility Committee walk were discussed in a meeting on Sept.19.
The walk was originally held on July 18 where Coun. Donna Barnett, the chairwoman of the committee, said took place down both sides of Birch Avenue between the district office and First Avenue. Members of the committee, including those using wheelchairs and seeing eye canes, took note of any potential hazards and documented them in the report discussed last Thursday.
"(We looked) at what impediments there are for accessibility and to document them, and if there are issues that are pertaining to the District of 100 Mile House, and we can maybe fix them and make things safer for those with accessibility issues," Barnett explained during the meetings.
Throughout the walk, the committee found several hazards - such as trees needing to be trimmed, cracks in sidewalks and the design of some bus stops not being wheelchair friendly, to name a few.
"We found some planters that needed to be removed or downsized because they were impeding access to businesses. We found many signs on sidewalks that people in wheelchairs and those visually impaired had difficulty getting around sometimes in the summertime - when doors are open to get into businesses - the wheelchairs can't get around them," Barnett said, noting that these issues can be dealt with.
The document compiled from this walk will become a living document, Barnett said in the Accessibility Committee meeting.
"Every once in a while, we can go through there and see if anything has changed or if we need to add to it."
Barnett said that the next steps regarding the walk are to compile everything they have found and put together an educational piece for businesses on Birch Avenue and the rest of the District of 100 Mile House council.
"We are just in the process of putting together a package and to go and talk to businesses and share the accessibility issues that we found with the businesses," stated Barnett. In addition, the findings will be presented in a future meeting of the District of 100 Mile House Council.
The committee will meet again on Oct. 17 at the District of 100 Mile House council chambers. They invite anyone with accessibility concerns to attend the meeting and share their concerns with them.
