Dear editor,
My husband has disabilities and is partially sighted, but wants to go out on his own around Cochrane sometimes.
Our issue is with the town and its accessibility via dropped curbs. Firstly, the crossing lines do not line up with the dropped curbs. My husband has a disability scooter and the buttons to press to cross are too far away from the crossings, so a person with a walking disability has to get up out of the scooter to press the button, and then re maneuver to cross the road.
On a trip into Cochrane with him this week, I noticed to get up onto the sidewalk at the top of Mountain Street to the traffic lights, they are not drop curbs. They have five- or six-inch concrete ridges, not slopes.
Even as far as the Safeway gas station crossing, there is a drop curb one side and not even a drop curb the other side. Through experience, my husband has learned this the hard way, and in his scooter, bashed into the curb, nearly tipping over, and then had to drive in the road, which is so dangerous!
Also, at these new traffic lights, there is no beeping sound to know when to cross the street. We think this oversight is another danger. We think the Town and builders should think about these issues before going ahead and having to improve upon them later. Surely, we cannot be the only people with a disability in the town of Cochrane?
Tracy Hardiman
