City council this week approved creating a new Mobility and Accessibility Committee.
The committee’s structure will give people with disabilities in Delta the opportunity to provide direct input on new and existing city infrastructure and programs to support mobility and accessibility.
A staff report notes that for proposed city capital infrastructure projects, the input could be provided prior to the final design and construction phase and, where appropriate, before council considers the project.
“This process will allow for adjustments to be made at the most suitable point in the process and will enhance City projects for people with disabilities. Other City committees and advisory bodies would also benefit from the perspective of people with disabilities. Therefore, the Transportation Technical Committee and the new Advisory Design Panel will include one member each from the Mobility and Accessibility Committee to further address accessibility issues in those contexts,” the report explains.
The committee will include representation from relevant municipal departments and up to seven members at-large who live in Delta and experience mobility or accessibility challenges.
In addition, the chair, who will be city manager Sean McGill, may also seek representation on the committee from organizations that operate in Delta and have a particular interest in accessibility, mobility or disability issues.
Council agreed there should be a separate committee on its own dedicated to dealing with such issues rather than incorporating it within another advisory group, such as the Mayor's Task Force on Diversity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism.
Delta resident Vincent Miele, an advocate for the disabled, recently requested the city create a new committee to focus on challenges disabled residents face.
“This includes lack of full wheelchair access to newer public facilities, transportation, housing, proper parking for persons dependent on mobility devices, full serve gas etc. This too is a form of discrimination and should be addressed as we too have been included in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms since 1982,” wrote Miele.
