I broke my fibula and I am in a non-weight bearing cast. To get out and about outside is now a matter of crutches, a manual wheelchair or a knee scooter. In four short weeks, I have gained a new perspective of the difficulties of getting around in Vernon for those with mobility challenges. Thankfully for me, the situation is temporary.
For anyone who has to face this situation permanently, the dice are loaded against you. I challenge each of our councillors and supervisors of planning and municipal operations to borrow a set of crutches and a wheelchair for a day and try the following:
Test out the recently constructed sidewalk on 25th Avenue between 18th and 22nd streets using a manual wheelchair with no help. You’ll find that the driveway ramps across the narrow sidewalk are so steep it requires a great deal of strength and effort to prevent the wheelchair from turning downhill and heading into the road.
Try trundling around one of the residential areas in town. As most streets have not been swept all summer, you’ll find that the amount of gravel, tree debris and other mess on the roads makes the job of getting around in a wheelchair or knee scooter much more work.
Go to a mall on a Saturday and look for an empty disabled parking spot on level ground, with enough room to push your vehicle door wide open so you can get out of the vehicle on one leg and into the wheelchair. Good luck.
Vernon has decided to encourage retirees to settle here. This means we’ll have more people per capita with mobility challenges than average. The physical design of our town is not keeping up. The only way to understand this is to walk in the shoes of a disabled person for a while. It is truly eye opening.
Ritchie Leslie
Vernon
