Better Accessibility for Vehicles

Idea:

Can we make it easier for disabled people to travel throughout the city? I'm on the outskirts but within city limits, yet have to spend $40 to get to the city for things like doctor's appointments or even picking up the mail since Canada Post takes everything to the Superstore and makes me go sign for it.

I can't afford nor trust a mobility scooter so I work with what I have to get to the community mailbox. What I have is a golf cart I've built into a mobility aid. I shouldn't have a life sentence of house arrest for the crime of being disabled and unable to push a wheelchair 20km with one hand. I couldn't do that on a flat paved trail and then add hills and gravel.

Since the province said "no" to the roads, and the fact I got permission to use the sidewalks in Oromocto when I lived there but being there are no sidewalks this far out, my idea is to allow disabled people to use what they can get that has a top speed under 50km/h on the trails with the speed limit of 15km/h. Let us get out to be independent and support local businesses. A disability shouldn't be a life sentence of house arrest.

As it stands, I get everything delivered from Oromocto since the delivery charge is $12.00 cheaper than any Fredericton delivery. If the city wouldn't be so discriminatory and let us disabled get out and do things for ourselves, depression would fall and you'd see a boost in the local economy which we really need after the past year.

To limit abuse of this system, require a doctor's note stating a mobility aid is required.

The route, for me at least, is pretty simple- Lincoln Trail to Crosstown trail to the Superstore, or Lincoln Trail to campus to the hospital.

If I'm taking out a loan to buy a scooter, I might as well just pay to move my home out of the city to somewhere more accessible.

I'd suggest an annual registration system to show a new doctor's note stating it is still required and pay a $50 fee to get your registration sticker where the funds from that can go to any extra trail wear. A golf cart is designed not to dig in for traction, which is why mine pictured has dot street tires, not mud digging tires so there shouldn't be much, if any trail damages.

Staff Feedback:

Thank you very much for taking the time to share your concerns with us. Electric wheelchairs/mobility scooters/e-bikes are currently the only motorized vehicles permitted on the trail system. And while golf cars are not permitted on trails or sidewalks because their width and the speeds they can reach cause safety concerns in terms of other users, we will take your feedback into consideration moving forward. As well, please note that the City operates a Para Transit system to provide mobility service to area residents. Details and registration forms are available at www.fredericton.ca/transit.