Squamish General Hospital has more accessible parking thanks to the help of local accessibility advocates.
Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) announced in an online news release that the local hospital added three accessible parking spots for a total of five, levelled the parking area and added a crosswalk from the parking area to the hospital.
“Mike Haley brought up the accessible parking at SGH at a meeting of disability advocates, including D’Arcy McCrea, a VCH Community Engagement Advisory Network volunteer and patient advisor. D’Arcy worked on the accessible parking issue with VCH for more than a year,” reads the release.
Heidi Butler, VCH's coastal director, said the overall construction took about a month. She said it was important to address the hospital's accessibility.
“We don’t want our patients to be parking in places that present challenges for them in getting to the hospital. The spots are full with people with accessibility logos on their vehicles—so they’re being used appropriately by people who need them,” said Butler in the release.
The parking changes come after advocates have long called for better accessible parking in Squamish.
The B.C. government notes that approximately 20% of the B.C. population between 15 and 64 years old live with a disability.
“This work is just one of the many steps that VCH is taking to become increasingly inclusive and to remove and prevent barriers to accessibility,” reads the VCH news release.
For more information about other accessibility services, visit VCH’s website.
