'Disabilities don't discriminate': City gathering public feedback on accessibility changes

Making Edmonton more accessible As the city gathers feedback on ways to improve accessibility, Bean Gill tells us why the improvements are so important.

EDMONTON — You can help make Edmonton more accessible for people with disabilities by sharing feedback on some proposed new ideas.

The actions are meant to improve accessibility to waste collection, transit, elections, recreations and more.

These are some of the ideas being presented:

Bean Gill uses a wheelchair and is happy that the city is creating an accessibility plan.

"As a person with a disability, you just feel like you're living in a world that isn't designed for you and that you're not welcome in," Gill said on CTV Morning Live.  "And so it's nice to see that they are actually starting to think of us as people."

Edmonton City Council approved the Accessibility for People with Disabilities Police in September 2019. Now the city is working to develop an action plan to support the policy.

The proposed plan will be in effect from 2021 to 2024.

"Disabilities don't discriminate so neither should anybody else," Gill said. "This is how we get rid of the stigma, we have to educate people, first of all what people with disabilities are, who they are and why they deserve to be treated with respect and dignity."

The city is gathering public input until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 9.