A couple with a handicapped son is calling on the government, developers and businesses to be more wheelchair friendly.
‘I challenge any able bodied person to use a wheelchair to try and negotiate their way round town and get into buildings,’ says Cathy Frazier.
‘I think it would be virtually impossible for someone to get around in a wheelchair on their own,’ she said.
And, with steps of different heights in all sorts of places, the problem is affecting all those who have difficulty getting around, including the elderly and tourists with mobility problems, says Cathy.
‘I have spoken to many wheelchair bound tourists and they say that if they had realised it was so difficult getting around they would have just stayed on the ship,’ she says.
Cathy and husband Jerry have had to contend with the frustrations and difficulties of helping son Jule get about for many years.
Jule, 22, has had cerebral palsy since he was a baby.
In the past, says Cathy, getting about was even more difficult because there were no transition points between the sidewalks and the streets and there were no ramps.
In those days they had problems getting Jule about in a stroller but could pick him up and carry him when necessary.
But their problems increased as he grew older and heavier and began using a wheelchair.
‘We are trying to encourage everyone to be much more considerate to the disabled,’ says Cathy.
‘There are people paying lots of lip service to the problem but there is often a lack of action,’ she adds.
Things have improved to some extent in recent years, she says, and there are places such as Grand Harbour, the Strand and Bay Shore where there are no problems and which are good examples of the way things should be.
But Cathy is calling on the Government and others to step up efforts to improve the situation elsewhere.
‘Existing transitions from sidewalks are an issue that Public Works needs to remedy,’ says Cathy.
‘Many times the wheels get stuck or the transition is uncomfortably steep and awkward,’ she says.
‘Also, getting on to the sidewalk is one thing, but getting into some of the stores, with step ups, is still another,’ she adds.
The couple is urging developers of individual properties and the community in general to be more considerate and to try and make sure there are no accessibility problems.
‘Even one person denied entrance to a building is one person too many,’ says Jerry.
‘And even when you get in somewhere like a store, the aisles are too cramped,’ says Jerry.
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