After installing its first round of accessibility ramps in Old Town last year, Niagara-on-the-Lake is expanding the StopGap program, opening applications for more businesses this spring.
A select number of ramps will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at no cost to businesses that meet specific criteria, the town said.
Applicants must be located in Niagara-on-the-Lake, have a single step between two and seven inches, and sign an agreement with the StopGap Foundation, which provides the ramps.
Businesses can apply from March 27 to April 30.
The town made the announcement during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the first nine ramps installed in the Queen-Picton area.
The town delivered the ramps to nine businesses in December, including Cool as a Moose and nearby COWS, where the ceremony took place.
Jamie Lynn-Jones, manager of Cool as a Moose, said the ramp has improved accessibility and benefited her business over the winter.
“People that wouldn’t have been able to get in before are able to come in now. And it also looks good that we’re being accessible to everyone, because we don’t want to have some people that can come in and some people that can’t,” she said.
Pamela TurnerSmith, a Niagara-on-the-Lake disability advocate who has a mobility-based disability, also attended the event. Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa credited her with spearheading the effort to have council approve the StopGap ramps and bring them to local businesses.
“Given the special role that Pam’s played … for her long-standing advocacy, many messages and reminders from Pam, that we need to pay better attention. And I appreciate that,” he said.
“(The ribbon-cutting) is a celebration and a recognition, but it’s also a reminder that we’ve got a lot more work to do.”
TurnerSmith agreed.
“I am happy that we’ve got nine ramps here. But this is four years of work and nine ramps,” she said. “I’m happy that the town is putting more funding behind it, that all of the single steps can be making this town much more accessible.”
“Every business, every store can be retrofitted for accessibility.”
Donna Herrington, owner of the Herrington Group, said heritage considerations and accessibility can coexist — a concern some business owners have raised in the past. Herrington, who also has a mobility-based disability, said the StopGap ramps in Old Town demonstrate that.
“I think they’re an excellent example of that,” she said.
Canada’s chief accessibility officer, Stephanie Cadieux, attended the ceremony after TurnerSmith invited her. Cadieux said she hopes for a “barrier-free country” by 2040.
“It’s a lofty goal, it’s a great piece of legislation,” she said during the ribbon-cutting. “But I can tell you as a citizen, accessibility does not stop at the federal government, and we need everybody along the journey.”
She congratulated the town, telling The Lake Report it is “a really good example of what you can do as a small town,” while echoing calls for further progress.
“It’s a great step, lots more to do,” she said.
Applications are available at notl.com/accessibility#stopgap.
