[Image-1] I am writing to express my frustration with the restrictive nature of the Access-A-Bus-service. This service is offered to persons with physical and intellectual disabilities who seek accessible transportation. My application for an extension for the Access-A-Bus service was initially denied on the grounds that I am “deemed able to utilize the conventional low-floor […]
accessibility
Posted inNews + Opinion
Snow clearing in Halifax is a disaster
Drivers and pedestrians, young students and elderly homeowners, everyone’s pissed off about the snow on our streets. Two snowstorms in one week is apparently all it takes to make HRM completely inaccessible. City sidewalks are filled with more stomped on white powder than a nightclub bathroom. Side streets remain free from any visible asphalt. Even […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Transit services fall short on accessibility
[Image-1] On a blistering winter evening at the Halifax Shopping Centre, wheelchair user Gerry Post makes his way to a bus stop. It is snowing at 9pm during the Christmas bustle of shoppers—Post just wants to get home. When the bus arrives, all able-bodied passengers pile in. But the driver says he cannot let Post […]
Posted inLifestyle
The perils of poverty for the physically disabled
[Image-1] PAXnorth church has nine steps leading up to its front doors, and no ramp. That’s why some community members were upset when the venue, at 5568 Cunard Street, was chosen for the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia’s annual memorial. “It came as a total surprise,” says Claudia Jahn, program facilitator at AHANS. She […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax mayoral candidates urged to address accessibility
Accessibility advocate Gus Reed sends the following letter to all five mayoral candidates: Dear Mr. Connors, Mr. Eisses, Mr. Mackie, Mr. Martin, Mr. McCormack and Mr. Savage, I am pleased to attach a petition with 142 signatures asking you to make accessibility a central theme of your campaign for Mayor of HRM and for you […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
How to fix the city
“Any other minority group would not accept having a ‘not welcome’ sign on the door. I pay taxes, I shop and go out to dinner, so why am I not welcome in Halifax?” says Ben Marston, one of many wheelchair users who feels marginalized by the city’s dawdling to make this a more wheelchair-friendly place. […]