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White Rock council commits to improving access to beach

Former mayor helps in Self-Advocates of Surrey plea for safety for all
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It helps when you have a former mayor on your team.

That’s what members of Self-Advocates of Semiahmoo found when they approached White Rock council at the July 22 meeting to ask for continued help from city staff in increasing accessibility to the beach – and additional access points – for those with mobility challenges.

Coun. Scott Kristjanson was quick to put forward – and council unanimously approved – a motion drafted by former mayor Catherine Ferguson, who was participating on behalf of the Uniti Beach Wheelchair User Program.

The motion directs staff to engage and consult with Semiahmoo First Nation to identify areas for the creation of safe, inclusive access points at East Beach, West Beach and the White Rock area of the beach and the tidal flats, with a timeline for completion in 2020.

It also directs for staff to work with SAS to help realize the safe inclusion of the waterfront and the tidal flats through the grant applications for the City of White Rock.

“One of the great things is having a former mayor before you, who’s already written the motion for us,” Coun. Helen Fathers observed.

READ MORE: Rugged wheelchair rolled out at Crescent Beach

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Jillian Glennie, involvement co-ordinator for SAS, who attended with member Jacquelyn Perry – and with many other enthusiastic SAS members and supporters in council chambers – thanked the past and present council and staff for work “to incorporate accessible design in the improvement project(s) including Memorial Park, the main washroom by the pier and train crossings along the west promenade.”

“These improvements are a great start, but we feel that we have a long way to go to reach an all-inclusive promenade, beach and tidal flats,” she said.

“I believe that all community members need to have safe access points, and this is going to cost money. I know that it’s going to be money well-spent, and that it’s necessary.”

Glennie said that, beginning in 2015, SAS has worked with the city in a “very positive, productive manner,” to assess and improve accessibility – in which they have also been helped by independent accessibility specialist Stan Leyenhorst.

Among issues identified by Glennie are uneven rock and surfaces, and current steep slopes at access points, including boat launches, that require a correction to a grade of no more than five per cent.

Ferguson said that currently there is only one city-designated safe access point to the beach – the steps down from the pier – which isn’t open while repairs to the structure continue.

“Individuals now that do not have mobility issues are finding their way onto the beach wherever they deem they can make it safely,” she said.

“This is a liability issue for the city, and I know that the city is very inclusive and caring of its residents and guests and I believe this is something that needs to be, and council would like to be, addressed.”

Ferguson said recent revisits of the waterfront have shown that some of the changes that have been made to the foreshore that are “actually making it difficult, and it’s way less safe than it ever was to access the tide flats.”

“In fact, we have taken away the (wheelchair bikes) for accessing (White Rock) beach, because it’s no longer safe for anyone to try to move or maneuver those chairs, with people on them, to get down to the tidal flats,” she said.

“We’re denying, potentially, part of our population the opportunity to experience something that most of us all take for granted. There are some people in our community who have never put their toe in a tidal flat pond because there hasn’t been accessibility.

“This all about safety, inclusion and access and doing the right thing,” she said.