Nothing says summer in Canada like the rat-tat-tat of jackhammers pounding the pavement, but for Vancouverite Gabrielle Peters the sound of construction is often a sign of trouble ahead.

Peters is a disabled person and co-founder of Dignity Denied who uses a wheelchair to get around. For her, construction usually signals blocked-off sidewalks with too few or inadequate modifications for her to navigate around them safely. 

“It takes what is already poor accessibility in the city, and it puts it down a notch,” Peters said.

Accessibility advocates like Peters say municipal and provincial governments need to do more to ensure that construction crews take into consideration people of all abilities when temporary diversions are put in place for pedestrians.

The most common issues Peters says she comes across are a lack of adequate curb cuts or signs to warn her about construction and diversions up ahead. 

Peters says sidewalk diversions that force her to use the street are all the more concerning because wheelchair users are at a higher risk of serious injury if they’re hit by a driver. 

Hodgepodge of rules

Across British Columbia and Metro Vancouver, there is a hodgepodge of accessibility rules for construction zones. 

In Vancouver, construction crews have to “maintain access for all users to pedestrian facilities such as sidewalks, crosswalks, pathways and greenways by maintaining minimum widths, creating safe and legible detours and adding ramps where needed.”

If sidewalk access is affected, crews have to submit plans to the city that include appropriate detours. 

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