A coalition advocating for disabled Ontarians is speaking out about the accessibility ramp connecting Line 1 and Line 5. <\/p>\n
A coalition advocating for disabled Ontarians is slamming Metrolinx over what it has described as the \u201cstupidest ramp in the world\u201d at Finch West Station. <\/p>\n
The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance (AODA) said the provincial transit agency \u201cinexplicably and inexcusably\u201d decided to forego an elevator in favour of a 261-foot ramp to connect riders between Line 6 and Line 1 at the station. <\/p>\n
\u201cRiders must go up one full floor (11 feet vertical height) on an exhausting 261-foot ramp that only has two landings to rest on the way,\u201d a statement from the group read. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis creates the illusion of accessibility but certainly not the reality of accessibility for people using wheelchairs or walkers, people with chronic fatigue or chronic pain, or parents pushing strollers.\u201d <\/p>\n
The ramp, the AODA said, \u201cmakes a mockery of accessibility.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cA person in a wheelchair could well need a Paralympian\u2019s upper body strength to power their wheelchair up this ridiculous ramp, which is the latest accessibility bungle from Metrolinx,\u201d AODA Alliance Chair David Lepofsky said in a written statement. <\/p>\n
The group pointed to the recently renovated Cedarvale Station, where Metrolinx \u201ccorrectly\u201d installed an elevator for riders to transfer between Line 1 and Line 5. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no excuse for failing to do the same at the Finch West station,\u201d the coalition said.<\/p>\n
In response to the AODA, Metrolinx said the design of the station was done in consultation with the TTC and the TTC\u2019s advisory committee on accessible transit. <\/p>\n
\u201cMetrolinx is dedicated to building a transit system that is safe, accessible, and inclusive for all customers,\u201d a spokesperson for Metrolinx said in an email to CP24. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe recognize the importance of ongoing feedback and continuous improvement. Metrolinx is pursuing\u202fuser testing with individuals representing a range of disabilities to better understand customer experiences.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A coalition advocating for disabled Ontarians is speaking out about the accessibility ramp connecting Line 1 and Line…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":816901,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[712,45,49,48],"class_list":["post-816900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-apple-news","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/816900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=816900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/816900\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/816901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=816900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=816900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=816900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}