A West Vancouver woman says the District of West Vancouver is being negligent towards people with mobility issues by failing to install a ramp on a popular walking path.
The path connects Ottawa Place with Mathers Avenue directly across from West Vancouver secondary and the Kay Meek centre ends with a set of steps.
People using mobility scooters, walkers or pushing a baby stroller aren't able to safely use the path as a result, argues Maura Whittaker.
Whittaker has been lobbying council to remove the stairs and replace them with a wheelchair ramp since 2012.
"I'm a physiotherapist. I've worked in rehab all my life. I'm conversant with people with mobility problems," she said.
"We're not asking for a third runway, we're just asking for some fairly basic pathway improvements."
In meetings with district engineers, Whittaker said she has been told the path is too steep to meet B.C. Building Code regulations for wheelchair ramps, though according to her own measurements on the 270-foot path, that' isn't true.
And money, she said, should not be an issue.
"All I wanted them to do was put it on the list to at least have it come up in a year or so in their capital budget but they will not even do that. They don't want to hear about it.
They're not interested. It's not down in Ambleside or Dundarave where they're going to get credit for doing it," she said.
But district staff maintain altering the path to facilitate wheelchair access would be unsafe.
"That's a factor with a lot of paths and trails in West Vancouver because of our terrain. That path and many others are simply too steep to accommodate wheelchairs," said Jeff McDonald, district spokesman.
McDonald said the stairs are a necessary obstacle for another group of people - West Vancouver secondary students who use the path as a shortcut on their bicycle ride to school.
"The stairs at the bottom of the path help deter kids from exiting too quickly off the path, onto the sidewalk and onto Mathers Avenue," he said.
Even with the stairs, kids like to "bash their way around," according to McDonald.
In order to make the route safer, staff placed a rock on the adjacent slope to discourage kids from using it, he added.
Failing to install a ramp on the pathway shouldn't be taken to mean the district is any less committed to accessibility, McDonald added.
"I think district staff do have accessibility in mind when they make decisions but they also have to keep safety in mind," he said.
