The wheelchair accessible washroom at Victoriaville is ridiculous.
First, there are no stalls in the men or women's washrooms, only a general population one that is locked at all times. One has to search for staff or turn on a blue light and wait for someone to notice it. I've waited for over 20 minutes at times.
Some people, like myself, who have neuromuscular disabilities, cannot wait that long. I've had accidents and had to buy clothing. I live on a fixed income. Victoriaville wouldn't reimburse me for that cost. It wasn't a CHOICE! I couldn't have ridden on Thunder Bay Transit with soiled clothes
I know that the city does not own Victoriaville but since they have so many offices here perhaps they could use that to get the mall to improve the accessibility of their washroom. Also, the toilet in the washroom is WAY too low. It needs to be raised. A SOLID seat raiser needs to be installed.
"Best of the Add-ons" is a seat raiser that is safe for EVERYBODY. "Danherous seats" is one raiser that is only safe for those who can stand, so please do not install anything like it. The final attachment is of a grab bar, which folds up onto the wall, but can be brought down for those of us who require a little help and who have balance difficulties. The fact that it folds up is vital, because it would be in the way for those who slide transfer, rather than stand.
My next step if this is not rectified is to go to the Ontario Human Rights Commission. There is no way the locked washroom and ridiculous wait times are within the AODA Standards for customer service.
Tracy L. Hurlbert,
Thunder Bay
