A spry 78-year old with mobility issues walks down to the Gibsons harbour waterfront on Winn Road every single day. She has no difficulties with the grade as the road surface is smooth asphalt, without the cracks or unevenness that makes her walking hazardous on some Gibsons streets. But how many more days can seniors and mobility challenged persons, as well as other citizens and visitors, enjoy this accessibility?
On July 21 the BC Human Rights Tribunal dismissed a claim by a Gibsons resident with mobility challenges that the proposed closure on Winn Road, and the public plaza the developers of the George Hotel have agreed to provide, are discriminatory under section 8 of the Human Rights Code because they make a formerly accessible area inaccessible.
The 28-page decision, written by tribunal member Emily Ohler, found that Gibsons was justified in seeking dismissal of the complaint. It relied, in part, on an affidavit from the Rick Hansen Foundation vice president who helped the developer create the plan for the waterfront, as reported in The Coast Reporter.
The Tribunal accepted that as expert opinion: “The expert is of the view that current access is unsafe and hazardous to the general public, especially for those with disabilities. Specifically he notes it is steeply graded, only partially paved, in significant disrepair, and creates an unsafe and hazardous condition. . .”
The Town of Gibsons says it cost more than $80,000 to defend itself against the complaint, and the town said staff are drafting a report summarizing the status and costs of the several complaints and court actions tied to its handling of the George Hotel development.
This 78-year old heard Mayor Wayne Rowe complaining on CBC Radio 1 about the cost the town had to incur. So what happened here, and who are the victims? Is it the mayor and the town, or is it the mobility challenged persons who appear set to lose their accessible road to the waterfront for construction of the parking lot and plaza with an elevator promised by the developer?
GIBSONS, John Roper, Pamela Proctor