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Disability advocates are slamming Ontario’s provincial transit agency for not having an elevator connecting Line 6 to Line 1 at Finch West Station, calling the accessible ramp in its place the “stupidest ramp in the world” that creates an “illusion of accessibility.”
The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) Alliance, an advocacy group that campaigns for effective implementation and enforcement of provincial accessibility standards, put out a YouTube video about the ramp Monday. It featured group chair David Lepfosky, who is blind, navigating the ramp and talking about the challenges it presents.
The video shows a ramp with three inclines broken up by two landings. In a news release Monday, the AODA Alliance said the ramp was 261 feet long, which is nearly 80 metres.
“If you’re powering your own wheelchair up this ramp, I hope you’re a Paralympian and you’ve got that kind of upper body strength, because you’re going to find it exhausting,” Lepfosky told CBC Radio’s Metro Morning Monday.
Lepofsky said it was “shocking” that Metrolinx didn’t think of installing an elevator at Finch West Station when Line 6 was built.
“Imagine having to go up a whole floor in a building vertically, 11 feet vertically, because that’s the distance you have to go up from Line 6 to Line 1,” Lepofsky said.
Lyndsay Miller, spokesperson for Metrolinx, said it remains dedicated to building a “safe, accessible, and inclusive” transit system.
“We recognize the importance of ongoing feedback and continuous improvement. Metrolinx is pursuing user testing with individuals representing a range of disabilities to better understand customer experiences,” she said in an emailed statement Monday.
Miller said Metrolinx consulted with the TTC and its advisory committee on accessible transit on the design of the connection between Line 6 and Line 1.
Stuart Green, spokesperson for the TTC, said the transit agency remains “committed to making the system accessible to all.”
The TTC has a five-year accessibility plan in the works for 2024-2028. A progress report will be considered when the TTC board meets Wednesday.
WATCH | The accessibility ramp that connects Line 6 to Line 1 at Finch West Station:
Ramp doesn’t deliver ‘reality of accessibility’: advocate
Lepofsky did note that there is a flight of stairs next to the Finch West Station ramp, but not everyone with a disability would be able to use them. In addition to people who use wheelchairs, those with strollers or facing chronic fatigue and pain would also be affected, he said.
Lepofsky also questioned why the Finch West station didn’t have an elevator connecting its two subway lines when other renovated stations, like Cedarvale (which is now home to Line 1 and Line 5), do. Line 6 opened to the public last December.
The only alternate option to get from Line 6 to Line 1, Lepofsky said, is to use two elevators to go up to street level, and then access the Line 1 platforms through a separate surface entrance.
“It’s so obvious that lots of people with disabilities as well as people with baby strollers, will need that,” he said.
“While we were shooting [the video], there was a woman using a walker going up the ramp. I’m totally blind and I could hear her hyperventilating.”
In its news release, the AODA Alliance said it was calling for an “independent” accessibility audit to be done for Lines 5 and 6.
The ramp creates the “illusion of accessibility, without delivering the reality of accessibility,” said Lapofsky.
“People with disabilities deserve better.”