10.7°C Sunny 
It’s showtime for Whistler’s effort to become as accessible as it can be in advance of the Paralympics. While the community has gone to considerable lengths to that end, it’s not finished — nor do we expect it to be so for some time to come.
Accessibility, of course, is a lot more than just wheelchair ramps in key locations. It’s also about signage, adequate numbers of easy-to-find accessible washrooms, the use of Braille in elevators, doorways and retail/restaurant aisles that can accommodate wheelchairs, and teletypewriter phones for the hearing impaired and the like. In large measure, it’s an attitude: We welcome all guests including those with mobility challenges, and we do our level best to make our community’s recreational offerings accessible to all.
The new, “inclusive” playground near the Whistler Medals Plaza, which has its official opening today (March 11), is a good example of the latter. The world-renowned Whistler Adaptive Sports Program is another.
Whistler, thanks to the efforts of municipal and some key private and corporate partners, has made progress that’s worth noting and in some cases celebrating. Since 2003, when international officials announced that Whistler would be hosting all or most of the 2010 Paralympic Games, the Accessibility Advisory Group has been hard at work in a number of areas. The physical evidence can be seen in new signage that directs those in wheelchairs to the nearest ramp; in a new, two-tiered ramp system into Village Square; in the new inclusive playground; and new teletypewriter phones — thanks in large measure to the efforts of one Hugh Tollett. In the past six years we’ve also phased out aging Whistler transit buses that weren’t wheelchair accessible.
We’ve also seen changes that are more subtle: more staff trained to know where, for example, the nearest wheelchair-accessible washroom is or the locations of handicap parking spaces; a new barrier-free Whistler route map that’s available at key visitor information outlets as well as on the municipal website; and a website called Whistler for the Disabled that provides information specific to those with sensory and mobility challenges (again, thanks to Mr. Tollett).
We still face challenges, as the recent experience of Patty Clarke illustrates. During the Christmas holidays, the North Shore resident, who uses a powered wheelchair to get around, was in Whistler and phoned for a cab, specifically requesting one that had a wheelchair lift. The first company sent a regular cab; the second sent one that had such a lift.
The driver, however, hadn’t been trained how to use the lift, but figured it out through trial and error. Once inside, Clarke had to ask the driver to strap her in — and to her amazement discovered that the van had no tie-down attachments. Clarke had to hold on tight for the entire ride. “I did get to my dinner but I was very frazzled and no, I did not call for a return trip,” she wrote in a letter to The Question. Clearly, it takes more than good intentions to be truly accessible to all.
As we mentioned, hosting the Paralympics shouldn’t be the end of our efforts to be the world’s most accessible mountain resort. Post-Games, we expect further progress to be made — perhaps including a funicular-type lift to help those with mobility challenges ascend and descend from the berm between the Gondola Transit Exchange and Skiers Plaza. Over the next 11 days, meanwhile, our efforts should be focused on welcoming and cheering on some of the most gifted and dedicated athletes in the world.
