A broken elevator at a West Edmonton apartment complex that could take as long as five weeks to fix has some residents feeling trapped.
Nora Peters, who uses a wheelchair, said she has been stuck in her second-floor unit for 10 days. She told CTV Edmonton that she is irritated about not being able to leave, but also worried about what could happen in an emergency.
“What am I going to do if I have an emergency and I got to go?” she asked. “We got notice that it is four to five weeks, and they just keep saying, ‘Sorry for the inconvenience.’”
Peters’ neighbour Bill Hucaluk understands her frustration. He also uses a wheelchair, but he’s free to come and go from his first-floor unit. He said this is not the first time the elevator has broken down.
“The building itself is not bad, but the elevator is crappy,” he said from just outside the lobby.
The apartment complex is managed by Calgary-based Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust. The TSX-listed company owns and operates a portfolio of more than 200 communities with over 33,000 residential units.
David McIlveen, Boardwalk’s director of community development, blamed the extended elevator service outage on contractors waiting for parts.
“We can’t create a new elevator out of thin air. I’m sure you can appreciate that,” he said. “It is very inconvenient. We understand that, especially when there is the element of not really knowing for sure if it is going to be 35 days or 50 days.”
After being contacted by CTV Edmonton, Boardwalk said the company plans to offer to move Peters to a more accessible unit.
Boardwalk boasts on its website that it “strives to provide Canada’s friendliest communities.”
That sentiment may not be mutual for some residents.
“(I’m) crying, because I can’t do nothing,” Peters said.
With a report from CTV Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson
