Simple Solution: Maintaining Accessible Access during Street Construction

Back in February, I posted about construction around City Hall and the new Timms Community Centre. During that time period, maintaining accessible access to both City Hall and the surrounding businesses was not happening. Even to the point where a person with limited mobility became trapped in City Hall when the access ramp was blocked during construction.

There is a large number of people who use mobility aids to get around. What might seem trivial to walk on —like gravel or a non-level curb— to someone who ability-bodied, can create a really challenge to other people. It can even lead to complete removal of access for some people.

Ensuring a smooth transition between sidewalks and the street, and between sidewalks and buildings is critically important. This is why I was happy to see the City of Langley install temporary asphalt at the end of April when they were replacing the curb letdowns at 204th Street and Douglas Crescent.

Maintaining access during curb letdown replacement. Select image to enlarge.

After the new curb letdowns were installed, they were not level with the street as paving is not complete. I noticed that some people who had mobility aids struggled navigating this area.

I was pleased to see that the City of Langley once again corrected this situation as shown in the following photo.

Creating temporary level access at the curb letdown during street reconstruction. Select image to enlarge.

Building an accessible, walkable community is something that I feel strongly about. Retrofitting our community for accessible access, and baking-in accessible access solutions into civic construction projects are keys to creating a community where there is no second-class residents.