Just deal with snow? Not so easy for some
Lene Andersen says getting around in winter weather is a big problem.
We can’t walk a mile in their shoes — or ride in their wheelchairs — but we can consider what it’s like for people with mobility issues to grapple with winter. Our column last Monday urged people to relax and deal with the snow, which rubbed some readers the wrong way, particularly those who can’t just hop over a snow bank or an icy stretch of sidewalk.
“What a condescending piece of crap,” Dave Mercer said. “Tell that to somebody who has to go to dialysis and can’t get through due to snow. Your compassion and understanding of what the issues are is so shallow.”
Not every response was so blistering. The most thoughtful came from Lene Andersen, a writer and photographer who uses a motorized wheelchair. She has her own website — theseatedview.com — to document her travels and observations in a wheelchair.
Andersen said she was “pretty disappointed at (our) lack of perspective. For many people with disabilities, as well as many seniors, uncleared snow means that you don’t get to use a particular sidewalk. Even if the sidewalks are cleared, once the snow plow comes around, a pile of snow will be pushed into the curb cut. Only able-bodied people can hike that barrier. If you have trouble walking, use a cane or walker, or a wheelchair, you don’t get to pass.”
She was so articulate in her email and an interview that we thought she’d do a better job of explaining it than we could.
“I’ve been trapped for most of the winter,” she said. “Winter is really hard when you have a disability and some people don’t understand that.”
She lives downtown and said that generally, “sidewalks and streets are cleared pretty fast. But I still can’t cross the road for several days because of the piles in front of the curb cut.
“I can drive up and down the sidewalk in front of my building, but I can’t cross the street to get groceries. Or see my doctor. Or visit a friend. Basically, I’m housebound for two to three days. Which means I obsessively check the forecast several times a day to make sure I have the groceries I need and reschedule appointments, just in case we get pummelled by a snowfall. This is Canada, it’s February and it’s going to snow. We can’t do anything about that. But from a human perspective, as well as a human rights point of view, clearing snow from paths of travel in an effective and timely way is extremely important.”