Now for those who have been following along, I've talked about cars, buses and transit, walking, and now bikes.

For a lot of people, it's hard to think of any other way to get around. However, that's ignoring one major aspect of society 鈥� one I think gets ignored far too often. The thing that most of those transportation options have in common is that it assumes the user has full mobility and is able to do intricate and dangerous tasks like drive cars. The fact is, not everybody in the community has the ability to ride a bike, or walk, or drive a car, or even get up the stairs onto the bus.

I won't pretend to be an expert on how getting around in our community is for people who have disabilities, seniors, people with addictions and other mental health struggles, and children. But I do know that it is something that we need to take into account if we are going to have a community that is truly equitable.

According to a 2015 UN study on accessibility in urban development, of the 6.25 billion people predicted to live in urban centres by mid-century (only 25 years out, by the way), 15 per cent of them will be persons with disabilities. We are experiencing a massive shift toward urban living in the world. To put things in perspective, in July 2002, the total population of the world was just over 6.3 billion. Let's say the population of the Earth is roughly 10 billion in 2050 (current estimates say 9.6, but we all know how current estimates hold up in the face of reality.) So 15 per cent of that 10 billion is still 1.5 billion, or roughly the global population at the end of the 19th century. These are very large numbers of people, numbers that I do not think we are ready for yet.

"For the 15 per cent of the world鈥檚 population who live with a disability, (many of whom live in urban areas), available evidence reveals a widespread lack of accessibility to built environments, from roads and housing, to public buildings and spaces and to basic urban services such as sanitation and water, health, education, transportation, and emergency and disaster response and resilience building and access to information and communications. These accessibility limitations contribute greatly to the disadvantage and marginalization faced by persons with disabilities, leading to disproportionate rates of poverty, deprivation and exclusion," the UN paper reads.

Lucky for me writing this, Statistics Canada just published their findings from the 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability on Dec. 3. Their results show that roughly half of people with disabilities experience barriers in public spaces that people without disabilities would not even notice. The odds of experiencing these barriers was even higher among women, 2SLGBTQ+ persons, older respondents, and those residing in medium or large urban population centres. 

These barriers can be as simple as a sidewalk covered in snow, which happens every year here in the Comox Valley, to not having pedestrian signals at intersections or crosswalks.

I can't imagine what it must be like to walk in downtown Courtenay in the middle of the day as a blind person. When I take my daily walk at lunch, my head is on a swivel any time I'm crossing fifth street. According to the Stats Can survey, sidewalks were the place that most respondents found barriers. The top four barriers to accessibility were "sidewalks when covered in ice or snow" (36 per cent), 鈥渨ait lines鈥� (31 per cent), 鈥渟idewalks in general鈥� (26 per cent) and 鈥渆ntrances or exits to buildings鈥� (20 per cent).

The report specifically looks at these kinds of barriers, but doesn't discuss the fact that many people with disabilities cannot use a car to get around. They cannot ride a bike. Either they have to take the bus (or something like the HandyDart, which just got an expansion), or rely on family or caretakers to get around. The report suggests that interventions that address these unmet needs "could be effective in improving accessibility in the built environment."

That's not to say that there aren't many businesses and groups that are accessibility-friendly. There is an Accessible Comox Valley visitor guide, many businesses have accessible entrances, and Courtenay Fish and Game recently purchased Mobimats for beach access at Comox Lake. I'm talking about making our built, transportation environment as accessible as possible for the largest amount of people possible.

Over the past few weeks, I've gotten a lot of letters from readers who do not feel comfortable getting behind the wheel as they age, which limits them from visiting other communities like Victoria. They are also disappointed that there isn't a transit or train system, or any non-car option to travel between communities on the Island.

Like I said, I'm not an expert on this kind of thing. I do know that it is a concern for many, and I would be remiss to do all of this work and not mention it.

More resources:

For the second part of this, I want to just end this series by offering more resources and ways to get involved with making our transportation systems better for everyone. If this has been interesting to you, or if you are one of the many who have agreed with this, feel free to continue this discussion in the letters page, or in city, town or regional council and board meetings. I'm just a writer, I can't actually make these things happen. I do know there is an appetite to make these changes by our elected officials, so if you want this kind of thing in your community, feel free to reach out to them.

For podcasts, I would recommend checking out "The War on Cars" and "The Urbanist Agenda." The latter podcast can get a bit ... shall I say colloquial ... in its language, so keep that in mind. They are hosted by very smart people though. 

There are also many books out there, but I would highly recommend reading "Building the Cycling City" and "Curbing Traffic," both by Chris and Melissa Bruntlett. "Two Wheels Good" by Jody Rosen is also a good one.

This and related topics seem to be very popular on my Youtube algorithm, so I'd suggest a few channels there too. These are "Not Just Bikes," "Climate Town," "Strong Towns," "Oh The Urbanity!," "About Here," "Propel," "Shifter" and "Strong Towns," among many others.

All of the accounts mentioned have Instagrams as well, and most are on Bluesky these days. I'd check them out.

Thank you for paying attention as I basically write a book about this, it's clearly a topic I care a lot about and it will definitely come back up again.

See you out there!