The City of Prince George received 67 accessibility service requests in 2024, according to an annual report from the Advisory Committee on Accessibility and Inclusion delivered to city council at its Monday, March 10 meeting.
On hand to deliver the report and tell council about the committee’s plans for 2025 was chair Ken Biron and Sarah Brown, the city’s supervisor of civic initiatives and partnerships.
According to the report, the most common requests surrounding accessibility came from roads and sidewalks with 32. Within that category, sidewalk requests were the most prevalent with 10.
Work on this category in 2024 include the installation of 34 curb drops, sections of sidewalk that are lowered to allow for easier access to the street.
Locations of these curb drops include three on Upland Street near Ferry Avenue and near the intersection of Connaught Drive and Juniper Street.
The report notes that some requested accessibility improvements, particularly new sidewalks and intersections, require long-term planning so they fit in with other infrastructure projects.
Because of limited funding, some of these improvements are expected to take years to complete.
In some instances, requests for improvements can’t be made because the property in question is not within the city’s jurisdiction.
As an example, the report shows a picture of the underpass on Massey Drive as it goes underneath 15th Avenue showing that while the bridge structure and sidewalk is property of either the city or the Ministry of Transportation, the stairs leading up to the Staples location at Parkwood Mall is privately owned.
Three service requests were made for items not within the city’s jurisdiction.
In other instances, logistics prevent sidewalks from being installed. If one side of a road is needed for temporary snow storage, it might only have one sidewalk.
There were 19 accessibility requests associated with civic facilities.
The most common request type of request was for the installation of push buttons to open doors. The most common building subject to these requests was the Agriplex equestrian facility.
At Prince George City Hall, the city added more accessible parking spaces and better signage.
A chair lift is being purchased for the Aquatic Centre this year. Also this year, the city is applying for a grant that would allow for accessibility assessments to be completed for civic facilities.
At the Civic Centre, a portable stage lift has been purchased to help people using wheelchairs get onto the stage.
Other accessibility improvements were completed at city hall and the Two Rivers Art Gallery with the help of the Rick Hansen Foundation.
“Many of the requested accessibility improvements are limited by the current constraints of (their) building,” the report said. “While we are committed to enhancing accessibility, some changes may not be feasible due to the building’s existing layout.”
There were four service requests for the city’s parks and trails relating to trail accessibility, vandalism on public restrooms, facility shortages and barrier-free access to heritage trails.
The report said that staff “work to remove graffiti on our parks and trails on an ongoing basis,” and that the building adjacent to the Jumpstart court at Carrie Jane Gray Park is being renovated to accommodate a public washroom expected to open this summer.
Prince George’s roads and snow clearing services also received four requests, which asked for better snow clearing for facilities, parking locations, bus stops and pedestrian crossings.
Two requests were received asking for the removal of human waste preventing access to city facilities.
Another two requests were received asking for the city to implement free parking for people with disabilities.
“To ensure accessible parking spaces are used appropriately, the city would need to allocate resources for maintenance, enforcement, signage and monitoring if it were to implement free accessible parking,” the report said.
One request was made regarding transportation, asking that the city expand transit options for elderly residents. The report said that this would require new infrastructure, more buses and operational costs.
However, it also notes that BC Transit is exploring an on-demand transit system that could help in more rural areas like Prince George.
A summary at the end of the report states that 2024 was the first year that the city “integrated public feedback into its processes and formalized a mechanism to address accessibility-related services requests.”
It also said that the majority of the complaints were received in the spring.
Unfortunately, the summary said, the accessibility committee was unable to incorporate the city’s official smartphone app into its feedback process due to software limitations, requiring residents to email [email protected], phone 311 or visiting the service centre in person, with city staff manually creating a service request afterwards.
Some accessibility-related requests might not have been flagged for the committee if the residents didn’t identify them as such, meaning some were likely left out of the report.
The diversity of accessibility-related requests, as well as the different ways of making those requests made “it challenging to streamline and standardize the data while maintaining the original intent and meaning.”
Because of the volume of requests, the summary notes that city staff said they had difficulty keeping up with them while making sure meaningful action was taken to address them.
“While ongoing accessibility requests highlight key areas for improvement, there is often uncertainty about how best to address certain complex or resource-intensive issues that may require council approval,” the summary said.
“City staff are currently operating at capacity to address accessibility concerns. Any additional accessibility-related requests should be evaluated with consideration for the need for additional resources.
In 2025, Biron told council, the committee will shift its role from reviewing service requests to be more active in advising staff in accessibility matters.
After hearing a summary of the report, Coun. Brian Skakun noted the lack of infrastructure for bus stops along Westwood Avenue, saying that passengers have to exit their buses onto dirt strips which aren’t likely great for people with accessibility issues.
Dave Bradshaw, the city’s manager of transportation and technical services, said there’s a plan this year to install crosswalks on that street this year and have them connect to stops on the east side of the road where concrete sidewalks will be installed.
Coun. Cori Ramsay said she’d like the committee to make sure they’re considering not just barriers for people with physical disabilities, but developmental disabilities as well.
