Access for disabled a serious issue: Farrell
Calgary should be role model for development, says city councillor
With Alberta’s population of seniors expected to double in 25 years, it’s time for Calgary to examine how it can make communities and public infrastructure more accessible, says Coun. Druh Farrell.
The Ward 7 councillor will introduce a motion this month for administration to examine how the city can integrate accessibility when planning communities and to review the accessibility of city-owned properties.
“We should be the role model for accessible development,” said Farrell, noting public facilities, like community association buildings and even the Municipal Building, are not fully accessible.
“We spend a fair amount of money trying to improve accessibility but the back of the building, for example, is still not accessible,” she said. “Those buildings are public buildings … and people with disabilities are unable to access them. That’s a failure in my view.”
She notes that nearly 200,000 Calgarians over the age of 15 will be living with a disability by 2019.
Further, Farrell says Calgary faces a critical shortage of accessible housing options that threatens a dignified and independent life for people as they age.
“People are staying in hospitals longer, staying in care longer because they can’t live independently,” she said.
Jeff Dyer, executive director for Accessible Housing, said his organization fields phone calls every day from people who have become trapped in their homes because of age-related illnesses or injuries.
The city holds the key to how communities are developed and homes are built, Dyer said.
“There’s no obligation for a new community or for a new building permit to be released with any accessibility criteria,” he said.
“Over time the city becomes less and less accessible while we’re all aging,” Dyer added. “It makes the ability to age in our communities more difficult because of the way we build our homes.”
The provincial government forecasts the number of seniors in Alberta will more than double by 2031 with one-in-five, or 923,000, being over the age of 65.
“We’ve got to make changes within this next decade so that we save ourselves from what will be an exacerbated problem as baby boomers age and no longer have the same level of income that they once had to modify their homes,” Dyer said.
He said he’s not advocating houses be built right off the bat as fully accessible but should be designed so they could be easily transformed as the homeowner ages.
Luanne Whitmarsh, CEO of the Kerby Centre, said many people want to be able to stay in their homes and communities for as long as possible.
“Part of that is making sure the community is accessible enough so that as needs change they’re able to fully stay in that community and not be forced out because the infrastructure isn’t meeting the need,” Whitmarsh said.
She said people tend to stay too long in their multi-level house or community that isn’t very accessible — increasing the risk of injury and isolation.
“People who are unable to leave their home or access things in a comfortable way will stay home and hope they can be there for the longest period possible,” said Whitmarsh.
“Often it takes a critical situation, like a health matter, before people say, ‘OK, this is the time to make a decision,’” Whitmarsh said.