Accessibility for all

Have you noticed the little green figure floating on the bottom left side of your screen on my website?  It’s an accessibility widget that assists people with limited vision to navigate the site.  It’s a small feature, one that may only be used by a few people, but it can be critical in allowing someone with a disability to be a full participant in our Community.

Whether its mobility, low-vision, hearing loss, cognitive or sensory challenges that result in one having to face barriers in daily life, we – as a Community - have a responsibility to work together to address and remove those barriers wherever we can.  For a municipality, the solutions range from a mobility mat on the beach, making a website fully accessible, installing improved curb cuts, creating more accessible parking spaces or improving access to public washrooms.  All these things improve life for all of us.

An example you ask?  On a picture-perfect summer day at the Parksville Community Park Beach there were 1,893 trips up and down the Mobi-mat in a three-hour period, of which only 7 were persons using mobility aids.  The lesson was that when you make something more accessible, often it makes life easier for everyone – even the 64 dogs that used it that day !

As your Councillor, supporting a spouse living with a disability, I would build on the work done by the Access Oceanside Association to make the City of Parksville a beacon of “best practices" in improving accessibility for all.

If you have any questions about my candidacy, please fill out the "Ask Ralph" section at the bottom of the Home page and I will get back to you pronto.