Stephanie Marentette
- What do you feel is the #1 accessibility issue facing the city of London?
I would say that an issue that is often overlooked is the accessibility of public events. My response to this was inspired by something I saw at Rock the Park during the Three Days Grace concert. There was an ASL interpreter all decked out in rock gear interpreting the music for a group of hearing-impaired guests and I thought that was the coolest thing ever. It also got me thinking about how challenging it would be to attend an event like that with a disability. As someone who does not experience disability, I think we often take for granted the ability to participate in concerts, festivals, sports events and other events around the city, and those community events are really important for Londoners’ morale, mental health and sense of belonging. If I could only focus on one aspect of improved accessibility, I would pick this one. I would like to partner with London’s disability community to determine where accessibility at community events falls short and to work on meaningful improvements so that all Londoners can participate in our community fully. I understand that this may seem like small potatoes compared to other issues such as housing and transit, but the ability to socialize and participate in our community is incredibly important. An inability to do only furthers isolation and the inability to live a full life.
2. How will you commit to improving accessible housing opportunities in our city?
I understand there is a lengthy waitlist for accessible housing primarily due to low stock that does not meet demand. Addressing this issue would require coordination with multiple stakeholders including social housing providers, specialized housing providers, developers, property managers and the disability community to determine how many accessible units are needed, the different features of these units that are needed to address different needs and how they can be blended into both the current housing stock as well as future projects. I would commit to having these conversations as a starting point and then to work with all stakeholders to increase the stock of accessible units.
3. How will you work to improve accessible transportation including conventional transit, Paratransit, taxis and ride sharing?
The LTC has made progress with respect to specialized transit in the past 4 years. As the former chair of LTC, I would continue to build on that progress to improve the number of trips accepted as well as improved mechanisms for payment acceptance. With respect to conventional transit, the LTC has been chronically underfunded for decades. Increased funding would allow for additional service improvements to conventional transit that would include more frequent buses on main routes to cut down on congestion to increase the likelihood of a bus having the space to accommodate a wheelchair or scooter, as well as new routes to facilitate movement around the city. Other ways to improve the service including working with the LTC senior leadership to ensure information is available in different ways to ensure AODA compliance. With respect to taxis and ride-sharing, I believe it is important to work with our local operators to improve compliance with the AODA. For example, education as part of a requirement to obtain license to operate such a vehicle could assist with issues such as ensuring rides are not rejected due to a service animal.
Ian Sterling Leishman
- What do you feel is the #1 accessibility issue facing the city of London?
First of all, I don’t think we should assume, as councillors, what the number one accessibility issue is without first listening to the people who experience barriers every day. Our job is to represent Londoners as best we can, and that means hearing directly from people with disabilities, seniors, caregivers, accessibility advocates, and others about the barriers they face and what improvements would make the greatest difference in their lives. We need to listen first, and then take action.
Having said that, I believe one of the most important accessibility issues facing London is the ability for people to move around our city safely and independently. That includes accessible and well-maintained sidewalks, reliable snow and ice clearing, accessible transit connections, and making sure construction or road work does not create unnecessary barriers.
Accessibility also needs to be considered at the beginning of every major city project, not added as an afterthought. Whether we are building a road, park, community centre, transit system, or public space, we should be asking from day one: can every Londoner use this safely and independently?
2. How will you commit to improving accessible housing opportunities in our city?
Accessible housing needs to be part of how London grows, not an afterthought.
First, we need to understand whether London has enough fully accessible housing, where the gaps are, and what people actually need. Particularly through new affordable housing and City-owned or funded developments.
The City should also lead by example. When we build or substantially renovate, we should look at making universal design features like step-free entrances, wider doorways and accessible bathrooms standard wherever practical. Building accessibility in from the beginning is often much easier than retrofitting later.
We also need to listen directly to Londoners who face accessibility barriers and use their experiences to identify what needs to change.
I’m also glad the City administers Ontario Renovates, which helps eligible low-to-moderate income seniors and people with disabilities make accessibility improvements to their homes. Programs like this help people remain independent in their own homes, but we should also look at whether the eligibility requirements or application process are preventing people who genuinely need help from accessing it.
Ultimately, we should identify the need, listen to the people affected, and do what we reasonably can to improve accessible housing and remove barriers within the resources available to us.
3.How will you work to improve accessible transportation including conventional transit, Paratransit, taxis and ride sharing?
Accessible transportation must be reliable, safe and practical. There should be regular monitoring of specialized transit wait times, on-time performance, missed or denied trips and availability, and we should use those results to identify where service needs to improve.
We also need to consider the entire journey. Sidewalks, curb cuts and transit stops must be accessible and properly cleared of snow and ice.
With the Bus Rapid Transit project originally budgeted at $281 million and skyrocketing to $454 million due to mismanagement, you would think accessibility would have been more strongly considered. Yet centre-median BRT platforms can require seniors, wheelchair users and people with limited mobility to cross multiple lanes of traffic, while greater distances between rapid-transit stops mean people with mobility challenges need to travel a much greater distance to reach a stop and is even more challenging during London winters.
I think it would also be worthwhile to work with taxi and ride-sharing companies to increase accessible vehicle options and pursue provincial and federal partnerships and funding.
Ultimately, we should measure success by real results: shorter waits, fewer denied trips, safer connections and a transportation system that people with disabilities can depend on.
Accessible London Coalition 