Bus stop accessibility after snowstorms continues to be a challenge for wheelchair users in Waterloo region

When it snows, Waterloo, Ont., resident Teresa McQuillin gets frustrated.

Her daughter Zahra uses a wheelchair. But after a storm brought more than 20 cm of snow to the region last Friday night, it was difficult for them to get around using Grand River Transit (GRT) this week.

"We just generally don't leave the house for a week or so after a snowstorm," she said. "That's pretty typical."

McQuillin said earlier this week, sidewalks and transit stops weren't cleared — and when she wants to call someone to raise it as an issue, it can be very difficult to figure out who is responsible.

"We have so many disjointed systems. So many people were responsible for different parts of snow clearing. So we have sidewalks cleared, but not curb cuts. Or we have a part of the bus stop cleared, but not all of it. Or we have the curb cut cleared, but you can't access the beg button to be able to cross the street," she said.

McQuillin's not alone in her concerns.

Edward Faruzel, the executive director of K-W AccessAbility, is also a wheelchair user and says for people with disabilities, not being able to access public transit can effectively shut down lives.

"When people don't shovel the snow, and if people can't access public transit, it's almost like being in lockdown again," he said.

"Transit is the lifeblood to being able to do anything. You can't get groceries, you can't go to work, you can't go to school, you can't go visit friends. If you can't access transportation, you basically can't go anywhere."

Any high snow banks or ice buildup on sidewalks leading up to the bus stop can also make it extremely difficult to travel for people with accessibility needs, Faruzel said.

He said often times, there is a snowbank blocking the entry to a GRT bus.

"A lot of times, they will look for an accessible driveway or something that has been shoveled that might be close to the bus stop," he said.

"That has happened many times where the bus stop isn't shoveled, but the neighbour that lives right beside the bus stop has his driveway shoveled. So the bus will stop, pull ahead a little bit and stop there, so we can access the bus that way."

Cities, GRT have reporting systems

The cities of Kitchener, Cambridge and Waterloo each have online snow reporting systems. GRT also has a phone line to report a stop, shelter or station that hasn't been cleared yet.

In a statement, GRT said its contractors clear snow from over 2,500 bus stops, stations and shelter locations, along with all ION stations. This includes concrete pads and shelters at the stops.

"Bus stop clearing begins 24 hours after a snowfall to allow roads and sidewalks to be cleared first, and contractors have up to 72 hours to clear the stops," the statement said.

When CBC Kitchener-Waterloo reached out to the local municipalities, they all responded to say GRT stops are not the the responsibility of the cities and to contact the region.

A photo shared by K-W AccessAbility on Twitter on Monday showing a member unable to get onto a mobility bus because of high snowbanks along the road in Kitchener. A spokesperson for the City of Kitchener said the snowbanks were fully removed from the area on Tuesday.

'Not cleared accessibly'

McQuillin said she'd like the snow cleared more quickly because a 72-hour delay in getting snow clear can leave many people vulnerable.

"By the time they [snow plows] actually clear it, it's crunchy snow ice. So even when they do clear it, it's often not cleared accessibly," she said.

She added the reporting systems don't always work for everybody.

"I used to report a lot and I found it didn't make much of a difference," she said.

"In order to report, you need to know an address," he said. "You need to be able to speak and hear and write and read. So when folks have multiple disabilities such as my daughter, they literally have no way to report the access barriers they are experiencing."

She said she now has a direct line to a supervisor of enforcement for the City of Waterloo, but that supervisor can't help clear GRT bus stops. That's because GRT stops are GRT's responsibility.

McQuillin said she is often left with no choice but to lift her daughter's wheelchair over the snow bank to get into the bus.

"Between her chair and her body, that's 150 pounds at least. So it's not an easy task," she said.