Larger Urban Centres Are Turning to Central Huron For Advice On Accessibility

by Bob Montgomery

Central Huron's Community Improvement Coordinator says she's been invited to speak to a number of communities and organizations about the success they've had in making downtown Clinton more accessible.

Angela Smith was recently invited to speak at a conference of the Ontario Network of Accessibility Professionals. The event invites members from across the province to get together and exchange ideas on what has worked in their community to improve accessibility. This year, Smith talked about the shopability project in Clinton and how they're trying to improve accessibility into their stores.

Smith says they've done a number of things to make it easier for people who have difficulty getting into stores, like putting ramps at the front door and putting a button beside the door that they can hit with their elbow and someone will come and open the door or the door will open automatically. Their ultimate goal is to get more people into the store, so that is not limited to people with accessibility issues. They want to make the stores accessible to everyone, including a mother pushing a stroller with one hand and holding the hand of another child or someone who is waiting for or just recovering from something like hip or knee surgery. She says if you add the number of people using strollers to the number of people who use canes or are in a wheelchair, that's a lot of people.

Their goal is that the improvements make it easier for everyone to get in and out of the stores in downtown Clinton. It's working in Clinton and other larger communities are inviting Smith to come and talk to them about what's happening in Clinton. Newmarket has copied some of things that are working in Clinton. She has been invited to come and talk to people in Mississauga about what they can do to improve their situation. Exclusivity works in many ways.