White Rock’s Susan Bains is determined to make the city’s iconic pier accessible for all.
A presentation she made to city council Monday, on behalf of the newly minted organization Equal Access Collective, argued for a new surface ‘mat’ that will allow anyone with mobility challenges, including those with limited vision – and even the able-bodied – to travel to the end of the pier without risking falls from the uneven planked surface.
Bains, who uses a wheelchair, gave a comprehensive presentation on costs (approximately $100,000) and benefits of the proposal, which was met with cautious optimism by council members.
In response to questions from Mayor Megan Knight, Bains said the Equal Access Collective would be willing to fundraise for the project, including seeking federal and provincial grants.
“We’re more than willing to collaborate with you on this,” Knight said.
“Of course $100,000 is a lot of money to a small city like White Rock. If we can do something in a collaborative situation, that’s what we will look at.”
Coun. Ernie Klassen thanked Bains for “all the hard work you have gone through to bring it to this point.”
“Personally I’m 100 per cent in favour of this project, and will do whatever I can to make sure it becomes a reality,” he said.
“I have a son with a disability who lives in a wheelchair and I’m also on the Accessibility Committee for the City of White Rock as a resident.
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Klassen won applause from many supporters of the collective in the audience when he said that, while he recognizes that White Rock is a small city with budgetary restraints, it shouldn’t be left to one group to fundraise for accessibility.
“We, as citizens, should provide equal access to everyone, and much as I agree and appreciate that you’re fundraising, I believe that we, as a society, shouldn’t ask a certain segment of the society to fundraise… I believe we, as a city, should look at all the options that are available to us,” he said.
Formerly the extremely active owner of a White Rock-based human resources consulting business, Bains has been in a wheelchair for the past two years – with a rare condition ultimately diagnosed as a herniated spinal cord.
Since then she’s missed being able to enjoy many activities with her daughter Lanikai, now nine, and her husband Jas.
And one of those activities has been travelling the length of the pier, which she has found impossible with either a manually operated or powered chair.
“Even with a powered chair the surface is very bumpy and uneven,” she said. “The bumps to the spinal cord will trigger spasms to my legs which cause them to jerk out – you can even fall out of the chair.”
Wheels can also get caught between the boards of the pier surface, she said, posing additional hazards as people in wheelchairs try to maneuver on the pier.
Bains said she first brought the issue to the attention of the city in 2021, suggesting the installation of a mat – as “an inexpensive, environmentally conscious, low-maintenance option.”
She said that city engineering and municipal operations director Jim Gordon resisted the idea, citing cost, maintenance issues and a potential tripping hazard.
Last summer she saw a television interview with another resident in a wheelchair, Kiran Aujlay, who also raised accessibility issues with the pier.
She and Aujlay have since joined forces with other residents in the Equal Access Collective, and she said her research has found that mats are being used around the world, including Santa Monica pier in California – where the administrator told her there have been no maintenance issues since it was installed in 2018.
She has also identified at least two producers of mats who can supply them relatively inexpensively – and says that federal and provincial grants could be accessed to cover most of the costs.
The Equal Access Collective has also gained letters of support from Surrey White Rock MLA Trevor Halford and South Surrey-White Rock MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay, while supporters scheduled to be present at Monday’s meeting included no less than Canada’s chief accessibility officer, Stephanie Cadieux and former White Rock mayor (and former MLA and MP) Gordon Hogg.
Others who provided letters of support include the Self Advocates of Semiahmoo, SCI BC, MS Society of Canada, South Fraser Active Living, Semiahmoo Community Safety Society, CARP National and CARP White Rock/Surrey, Brella Community Services Society, the Cerebral Palsy Association of BC, Muscular Dysrophy of Canada, Peace Arch Hospital Foundation and the Disability Alliance of BC.
“Before I didn’t have all the information, but now I’ve covered every single point,” Bains said.
“It is possible, it is do-able and there really is no reason to say no, now.”