Pemberton will be a more accessible community in the coming years, thanks to a new accessibility committee.
Christine Burns, the Village of Pemberton’s (VOP) manager of recreation services, is spearheading the committee, which she hopes will make life a whole lot easier for wheelchair users, parents with strollers, people with disabilities, and the elderly. An accessibility page is now also live on the Village of Pemberton website.
Burns gave an update on the VOP’s accessibility and inclusion plan at a Committee of the Whole meeting on Tues, Dec. 5. The plan is intended to help Pemberton meet new guidelines set out by the provincial government.
The province introduced accessibility legislation through the Accessible British Columbia Act in June 2021. More than 750 public-sector organizations across B.C. are now required by the act to establish an accessibility committee, an accessibility plan, and a tool to receive feedback on their accessibility.
According to the province’s website, there are more than 926,000 people with disabilities living in British Columbia. Made up of seven members, Pemberton’s Accessibility and Inclusion Committee had its first meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 1.
“This summer, we got the ball in motion,” said Burns. “We put a call-out into the community to see if individuals would be interested in participating on an accessibility committee. We are really excited. We got representation from a vast majority of demographics in the community. We have seniors representation; we have early years representation; we have people with disabilities; we have Indigenous representation as well.”
Burns said she feels very fortunate so many people were willing to step forward and have their opinions heard. With Pemberton planning for its population to reach 5,000 in the coming years, the committee is currently developing a plan it hopes can grow with the town.
“The B.C. accessibility hub has also reached out with potential free money for individuals who will help write the plan,” said Burns. “We will go from there. The next steps will be further updates with the draft plan coming sometime in the spring. That would be our goal at this point in time.”
Councillor Ted Craddock welcomed the new committee, but wondered how improvements will be paid for.
“It’s great to see this coming,” he said. “Is there any money behind this to back this up? Is this just going to be a plan again, or is there some funding behind it?”
Burns stressed there is funding available for suitable projects.
“The province is putting money into this one. The federal government is putting money into this one across the country,” she said. “Part of the monies that the library received was through an accessibility grant offered through the federal government. We have supported the library in a number of grant applications. The plan is we will be putting a ramp on the facility at the front side.”
Burns explained a project would have to meet certain criteria to receive the province’s funding.
“There are grants out there available for that. The granting opportunities exist,” she said. “It’s just a matter of having the project that you want to do in order to make that application. They are not just giving out that money and letting people do whatever project they want. They are putting onus on all organizations to step up and make their facilities more accessible.”
The first plan will start off small in comparison to neighbouring communities’ plans, Burns said, adding the initial feedback has shown making curbs and sidewalks more accessible should be the committee’s first priority.
“Whistler’s accessibility plan is very broad, but they have had an accessibility [focus] for over 20 years,” she said. “They have been doing this for a long time. Hence, why their plan is so broad. Our plan would be to start off small.”
