This newsletter/update is to keep members of CAN, or interested parties, up to date on our monthly meeting, what we discussed, what our plans are for the upcoming month, and any other pertinent information covered during the meeting. We understand that not everyone is able to attend a monthly meeting and hope that this will keep those interested in CAN in the loop. Please let us know if you have any questions or comments concerning our meetings and/or this update by e-mailing us at info@canbc.org, or by phoning (604) 466-8771.
Thank you for you interest. Your ideas, suggestions, and input will help to create positive change in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. Together we CAN!
May has been a productive month for Citizens for Accessible Neighbourhoods. We continue to work towards improving accessibility, and awareness of accessibility in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. We thank you for your support and feedback and look forward to continuing in our successes.
During May Citizens for Accessible Neighbourhoods was contacted by The Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows Times newspaper for an article concerning accessibility on the buses. A lady, who uses a scooter, was stranded when a new shuttle bus had a malfunctioning ramp. She was told by the driver to cross the street and catch the other bus, which was going in the opposite direction but would get her to her destination. She scooted to the curb cut, crossed the street, and then went to the other bus to be told that the driver had loaded everyone already and would not be able to let her on. In the end she had to call an accessible taxi which cost four times what the bus ride would have. The reporter asked if this was an isolated incident or if CAN knows of other incidents. The article had the contact information for CAN and for the two weeks following the article we received several calls from people who had had experience similar problems with the service of the Coast Mountain Buses.
The information that CAN gained from speaking to those who had experienced problems with the accessibility of the bus system in our two communities will be very useful for the letter that will be sent to Translink and Coast Mountain Bus early next week. Several of the people that have contacted CAN explained that they no longer are able to rely on the transit in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows due to the inconsistency of the ramps. It was disheartening to hear how many people have experienced problems. Many of the problems boil down to communication. The majority of the people who experienced accessibility problems with the buses tried to contact Translink for a response but were unable to talk with a person who might be able to help.
CAN will be finishing the letter to Translink this week. We will send it out next week and we hope to hear from Translink by the end of the month. We look forward to hearing from Translink, and Coast Mountain Bus, what their policies are regarding accessibility, communication with frustrated patrons, and what their plans are for the future.
Citizens for Accessible Neighbourhoods continues to get positive feedback regarding their web site. The ‘Current CAN Project’ page has been under construction and should be up by the end of next week.
As always, if you know of any organizations, support groups, or upcoming events that are not listed on the web site please let us know. We look forward to continuing to work on our web site and supplying people with a one stop site for information about our two communities.
CAN will not be having meetings during summer. We do hope to continue to get the word out about CAN and if you have any ideas as to how we can let more community members know about our organization please let us know.
CAN was contacted by a committee member for the Seniors’ Centre Information Day, and asked to participate in the event. The first full week in June is Seniors’ week. The Seniors’ Activity Centre in Maple Ridge will be putting on an all day event on June 5th that allows all the various organizations in Maple RIdge and Pitt Meadows to set up tables and let the seniors know about what is available in the two communities. CAN was asked to have a table at the event and we are honoured to be asked. We will have information at our table about our organization, as well as someone to answer any questions. We also plan on having a set of Adaptive Boccia balls so that community members can see how Adaptive Boccia balls are different from regular Boccia balls. We hope to promote the Adaptive Boccia we will be starting in the fall in Pitt Meadows.
This event will also be a great networking event for CAN, as we can let the organizations present know about our web site. We hope to get some more listings from the event.
We look forward to getting the word out about CAN. We also hope to find out if there is enough interest to have a meeting at the Seniors’ centre, starting in the fall. This meeting would probably be during the day so it would be separate from our regular meeting.
We at CAN hope you have a great summer. While we will not be having any more meetings until September please let us know if you experience any accessibility problems within the two communities. While we won’t be attending meetings we will continue to work towards improving the accessibility in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.
We welcome any feedback concerning CAN’s goals, projects, and/or this newsletter. If you know of anyone interested in joining CAN, volunteering, or receiving the newsletter please let them know about our web site www.canbc.org, and pass on our contact information: e-mail info@canbc.org, phone number (604) 466-8771.
Thank you for you interest. Your ideas, suggestions, and input will help to create positive change in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.
We will be breaking for the summer. We look forward to seeing you in September when we resume with our meetings.
Remember together we CAN!
