The city has downgraded plans to make a new dock on the Rideau River accessible to people with mobility issues, frustrating some residents.
Christine Honsl is among those unhappy with the revised plans for the dock in Old Ottawa East. As a wheelchair user, she said she won’t be able to safely use it.
“I was looking forward to accessing the dock when it was built,” Honsl said in a video call. “So I’m disappointed.”
Capital ward Coun. Shawn Menard and the City of Ottawa established the dock project about three years ago. Menard’s office provided over $200,000 to fund the project.
Originally, the city planned the dock with features making it safe for people with limited mobility, including a longer ramp to decrease the slope and a larger platform.
But following a May 2023 meeting to inform the accessibility advisory committee of the design of the accessible dock, city staff proposed amendments, which Menard said divided the committee.
“Ultimately, the committee voted in support of proceeding with the proposed changes to modify the dock and ramp to meet the operational requirements, while preserving the accessible pathway slope,” Dan Chenier, Ottawa’s general manager of recreation, said in a statement to CBC.
The dock also had to be suitable for use by paddlers and built for seasonal use, Chenier said. A fully accessible design would be too long and heavy for removal in winter, he said.
“It isn’t as equitable as it should have been in terms of being accessible and that’s the disappointment with this project,” Menard acknowledged.
Honsl said she was frustrated the city had ended up building yet another dock not accessible to people with physical limitations.
“I just don’t understand the city spending a lot of money and it’s not going to be available for everyone,” she added.
Drive for change continues
Rick Burrowes lives near Springhurst Park and has been involved in this project since its beginning.
He said the city did not inform the community about the changes to the original plan — he found out once construction was underway this summer.
“I’ve been telling people that it’s going to be accessible, the city said it was going to be accessible, and now the rug has been pulled out from underneath them [residents],” Burrowes said.
Burrowes gathered 200 signatures for a petition to modify the design mid-construction, but said it is now too late to make major changes.
He is now focused on petitioning the city to add accessibility features to one of its existing docks, such as at Windsor Park.
Menard wants the same.
“We need to look at other docks along this area where we can get a fully accessible option for people, which is, in this day and age, what we really need and people deserve,” Menard said.
WATCH | Plans changed for the project, leaving residents disappointed
A new dock at Springhurst Park was supposed to be accessible for people with different mobility needs, with a longer ramp and a larger dock base. But the plan changed midway through the project, leaving frustrated residents in its wake.
Mental health implications
Not making outdoor space accessible for all has wider impacts, according to Jerry Fiori, chair of the Ottawa Disability Coalition.
“This puts up a barrier for people to do what they want to do – to do what everyone else can do,” Fiori said in a video call.
As someone with multiple sclerosis who has used a wheelchair for nine years, Fiori is familiar with the day-to-day challenges of living with limited mobility.
“You feel really bad about this, you get discouraged, you say I’m not going to go out anyways. And you know, it leads to depression for one thing, and it’s not acceptable to have that type of situation,” he said.
As long as the Springhurst Park dock is “not totally inaccessible,” it is unsafe for those with limited mobility, he said.
The dock, which is the third in Capital ward, is due to be completed by mid-October. The city said it plans to install railings to enhance accessibility, and noted the existing docks along that stretch of the Rideau River present similar challenges.
“Other Rideau River docks have similar accessibility constraints as Springhurst Park, including parking distance and pathway conditions,” according to Chenier’s statement.