Accessibility Event on Tuesday in Clinton
On Tuesday, May 30th, 2023, Central Huron will be holding an event marking National AccessAbility Week and celebrating the steps we have made over the past few years towards a more accessible downtown. We invite you to celebrate the improvements that have been made and our ongoing commitment to making our town a welcoming place for all.
The event will start at 7pm at Millennium Park in Clinton. The park is located on Highway 8, just east of the main lights. Parking is available on either side of the park, as well as on the street. Email cic@centralhuron.com if you have questions.
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With National AccessAbility Week coming up from May 28 to June 3, I am planning an event in Clinton to celebrate the changes that have been made downtown. Having a Mom that was wheelchair-bound from a car accident turned me into a champion of accessibility.
My Mom wasn’t able to drive following her accident and required care 24 hours a day. I was the person that would take her out for recreation and shopping. It quickly became clear that this was an impossible task in any small town. Stores have heavy doors, no automatic door openers, steps to enter and so on. In order to shop, I had to take her to Walmart or a mall, which have accessible parking, level entrances, automatic doors and accessible washrooms. Having learned this, I knew that we were eliminating a large percentage of our population from EVER shopping in our town. If I was taking my Mom to a mall to do her shopping, I would do mine there too, taking more dollars out of our town. 53% of the population identifies themselves as having a disability or being related to someone who does. This statistic also does not include people who may be ‘temporarily disabled’ from knee or hip replacements, etc. The amount of people that struggle with accessible shopping is staggering.
In my Mom’s memory and for all those that require some help, I decided that I would undertake to make Clinton’s downtown more accessible. To date, the following improvements have been made, all at NO COST to businesses, using grant money from many sources:
- 16 additional stores got auto door openers
- Shops were provided with doorbells and a wheelchair sticker indicating that you can simply push a button if you need help
- Each store with a step had a grab bar installed: many people are capable of going up steps but just need something solid to grab on to
- Every downtown store was provided with a chair to place on the sidewalk. We learned that folks with mild mobility issues could navigate better if there were spots to sit positioned at regular intervals
- Stores with steps had yellow visibility strips painted on them for the visually impaired
- Just last week, each of those stores also received a StopGap Foundation ramp
I have been honoured to receive both County and Provincial awards for these accessibility improvements, which I refer to altogether as “The Shoppability Project.” People are taking note that Clinton is more shop-able and we can’t wait to see this project continue. We hope you join us to celebrate the work that has been done so far and come to Millenium Park in Clinton at 7pm on Tuesday, May 30th.
Angela Smith