Editor,
Don’t get me wrong. We’ve made some good strides in improving accessibility for those who need it. The new library is the shining example here in Meaford, and I drop in there regularly.
But sidewalks and roads are horrible for a wheelchair user, and I can only get in three of the restaurants downtown, one by a long detour through a back parking lot. At least the last block of sidewalks should be smooth as you approach the downtown.
I use a power wheelchair, and I have constant neuropathic pain at the level of my spinal cord injury. Every crack on the roads or sidewalks is painful. Some spots are downright unsafe.
I can’t count the number of times I’ve been stuck on the curbs at the intersection of Nelson and Sykes, dependent on a passerby to rescue me. That intersection should be the same as that at Trowbridge and Sykes.
We have a new wheelchair accessible sidewalk on the bridge over the river at the harbour, but no place to go after I cross it except a painful gravel parking lot.
When will we get serious about accessibility and make Meaford accessible to wheelchair users, among others? In my mind, National AccessAbility Week is a sham.
Stew Hilts, Meaford Resident
