Nope – Don’t Need or Want Special Spaces – I Want Inclusive Spaces.

  Last week I wrote a letter. I posted it here. I thought the letter was fairly straight forward. I am typically direct. I try hard to keep the sarcasm to a minimum. (If you doubt how hard I work at that, you should read the drafts I delete.) I try to examine the logic…

Accessibility a.k.a the Public Part of Public Space: My Letter to Vancouver Mayor and Council

  Dear Mayor and Council, I am writing regarding the future of the Arbutus Corridor. I understood there was a plan to pave the portion where the railway tracks had been. I thought a paved path sounded like a good idea, in part because it allows me, as a wheelchair user, access to a part…

SkyTrain Fare Gates Must Remain Open

As you may have heard the fare gates at Vancouver SkyTrain are closing on July 25th. This has been an ongoing issue of concern because the NEW gates that TransLink spent millions on are inaccessible to some disabled patrons.   I posted that I did not believe the fare gates should close and someone on…

Randy Rinaldo And The Normalizing of Racism And Poor-Hating In Canadian Politics

Last week the BC Liberals announced they’d chosen Randy Rinaldo as their new candidate for Burnaby-Lougheed. Patti Bacchus, a Vancouver School Board Trustee, shared some of Rinaldo’s past tweets and soon enough Twitter went digging. These tweets raise legitimate questions about whether Rinaldo is a good, let alone the best, choice to protect public interests,…

The Handydart/Taxi Ride Conclusion: Circling Around And Going No Where.

  Quite a few people have asked online and off, for an update on what, if any, response I had from the City of Vancouver and in particular Mayor Gregor Robertson regarding my letter outlining an unpleasant experience I had with a taxi driver sent on behalf of Handydart. The short answer: I never did…