Photo courtesy of stopgap.ca, Photo courtesy of stopgap.ca,
London

First Stop Gap Ramp Installed Downtown

Local volunteers are looking to make the city more accessible, one brightly painted wooden ramp at a time.

The first Stop Gap ramp is now in place downtown on Richmond Row. Stop Gap is a Toronto-based organization that designs free, removable ramps for businesses with a step in front of their doors.

It was founded by an engineer who suffered a biking accident that left him in a wheelchair.

Lisa Bondy is organizing the London initiative and says a lot of the more established business areas in the city pose challenges for those using a wheelchair, walker or stroller.

"There is an accessibility issue in London. A lot of our buildings, when you get into downtown London, Old East Village, SoHo, they are older buildings. A lot of them haven't been built to code as of now and a lot of them do have that one step entrance," Bondy tells BlackburnNews.com. "The ramps are made out of a high-quality plywood structure and have rope handles. They are very light weight and are painted these colourful colours, and the colourful colours are to help make accessibility fun."

Stop Gap London is looking for volunteers to take note of businesses that may be interested in a ramp. The build will happen on June 13 and 14, then the ramps will be distributed across the city.

For information on how to get involved click here.

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