File photo of a sidewalk plow with a brush attachment courtest of © Can Stock Photo / reticentFile photo of a sidewalk plow with a brush attachment courtest of © Can Stock Photo / reticent
London

Petition aims for better sidewalk clearing

A London man who uses a wheelchair has launched a petition to try to convince the City of London to do a better job of making sure sidewalks are passable.

Gerry LaHay is collecting signatures on an online petition to put pressure on city council to make sidewalks in the city barrier-free. As of Monday morning, the petition had collected over 1,200 of the 1,500 signatures LaHay was hoping for.

According to LaHay, he first started thinking about a petition in the summer, when his route was blocked by a sidewalk closure that was the result of a work crew laying down cables for a communications network. He says the closure forced him to turn back so he could get to another intersection where he could safely cross Oxford Street at a stoplight.

"When you're in a wheelchair and you come across a sidewalk closure and it's not properly announced in advance with proper signage, you find yourself backtracking. It could be 600-700 metres," he said.

The need for barrier-free sidewalks becomes even more acute in the winter months, LaHay said. He added traversing snow-covered sidewalks can be nearly impossible for some people who use wheelchairs, as well as for seniors and others who have mobility challenges. And if you can make your way on a sidewalk to get to, for example, a bus stop, there are often snowbanks that make getting from the sidewalk to the bus a difficult task. LaHay said the city's efforts to get people to drive less rings somewhat hollow when such challenges face pedestrians and transit riders.

"We encourage, as a city, active transportation. Let's get out there and use public transportation, use the LTC," he said. "We're going to spend a tonne of money improving our public transit. And yet, if you can't access it, what's the point? If we're going to declare a climate emergency, if we're going to encourage people to be active, to get on the bus, to ride their bikes, or walk... well, you can't do it if the sidewalks are impassible."

LaHay admitted there may not be an appetite among many Londoners to make sidewalk clearing a priority, especially among those who rarely walk or use public transit. He knows money is an issue and few, if any, Londoners are interested in paying more taxes. But he said the city might do well to look at reallocating spending and putting less focus on vehicle infrastructure and more on making sure people are able to freely move on sidewalks.

"Are there opportunities to say, put a little less emphasis on the road plowing, or invest in future technology that allows for better sidewalk clearing, like snow brushes rather than plows and blades? Or do we bite the bullet and find the efficiencies in the budget to get this done, because we can't talk about an accessible city, we can't talk about an inclusive city if we don't want to put the emphasis on basic maintenance and service," he said.

LaHay will be appearing before the Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee on Thursday, where he will present the petition to city councillors. In the meantime, he said Londoners can chip in to help make sidewalks passable for people with mobility challenges.

"Encourage the neighbourly thing and get folks to shovel the sidewalk in front of their house when they can," he said.

LaHay's petition can be found here.

Read More Local Stories