The last straw broke for Jessica Whetung when her car was towed.
The single handicap parking spot at the Highland Glen subdivision was too great a distance from which Whetung to walk to her friend's house. So she parked in front of her friend's place. Her cane was in the front seat and her handicap parking sign hung around the rear-view mirror. When she returned to her specially adapted car, it was gone.
It's the latest example of the frustration Whetung said she faces everyday. When meeting The Chief for an interview, Whetung had to drive around the downtown core twice before finding a suitable parking space - both the handicap parking spots on the main strip of Cleveland Avenue were occupied.
"They're always full," she said, adding that often the cars in the designated zones don't have handicap signage.
Several years ago, Whetung suffered a head injury that triggered dystonia, a neurological condition that contorts the right side of her body. Going from an able-bodied person to dealing with physical disabilities was eye opening, she said.
"It changes the way you look at things," Whetung said.
Although she attributes her ability to walk to the professional help she received in Squamish, she said the town itself is not friendly for people with disabilities. There is limited handicap parking around town and many older stores are accessible only by stairs, Whetung said.
The newer housing isn't much better, she said. Whetung believes it's unjust for stratas to tow handicap-labeled cars when inadequate handicap parking is provided, Whetung said. Often developments only provide one or two handicap parking stalls, and many buildings are three or four stories tall, making it difficult to find accessible housing, Whetung said.
"In such a tight-knit community, people should be looking out for these things," she said.
The District of 撸奶社区did conduct an accessibility audit on its public buildings, said Coun. Paul Lalli, who was council's representative on the Accessibility Advisory Committee. He said he was surprised by some of the results to do with newer buildings, but what really caught his attention were comments regarding local schools.
"They definitely need improvements," he said, noting that there are budgetary issues surrounding improvements, so they take time to change.
Challenges to do with getting around 撸奶社区can partly be blamed on the age of some of the buildings, said Liz Wood, director of Sea to Sky Community Services' community living services. Mothers with strollers often face the same issues as people with disabilities, noted Wood, who also sat on the district's Accessibility Advisory Committee.
Such committees have helped guide the municipality's plans, Mayor Greg Gardner said. Municipal staff have built curb cuts from sidewalks to accommodate wheelchairs, he noted. He added that accessibility is also taken into account during the development permit stage of proposed projects.
The district is also proactive in seeking developers to build accessible and affordable housing, Gardner said. An example of this is the Riverstones project - a development that includes 84 rental units for seniors, low-income families and people with accessibility challenges.
"[Accessibility] is something that we look at on every application that comes through that we have some control over," Gardner said.
