SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Plans for the long-awaited wheelchair ramp at the Franklin Avenue entrance to Centre Square Mall have been sent back to the drawing board after the city rejected the design that was ordered by the NWT fire marshal last spring.

Debbie Ann steps down from the approximately eight-inch curb from the Franklin Avenue entrance of the Centre Square Mall Thursday. Last spring the NWT fire marshal issued an order to have a wheelchair accessible ramp installed, but nearly a year later, it still hasn't been built. - Kira Curtis/NNSL photo

Access to the upper level of the mall from Franklin Avenue has been nearly impossible for people in wheelchairs and parents with strollers since the building's construction in 1990.

Currently the only accessible entrance to the upper level is through the Yellowknife Inn, where people who need access are required to be let into the mall through the limited access glass partitioned door.

Jeff Humble, director of planning and development for the city, said a design application was submitted in September for a ramp adjacent to the mall entrance, but "it didn't really meet the (building) requirements."

Because the proposed ramp is on Franklin Avenue, which Humble describes as a "high profile street for pedestrians," the city wants to ensure the design doesn't hinder pedestrian traffic.

"Our response back to them was to bring up the grade of the sidewalk so that it's at the same level as the curb entrance of the mall," he said.

"We figure that is what the best solution is for the mall."

The mall will now have to submit a new design application to the planning department. It will then be moved on to the public works department, and if everything is in order, approval will be given and construction can begin.

Derek Carmody, general manager of the Yellowknife Inn and upper level of the mall, said there has been a lot of back and forth with the city and he's ready to get things in motion.

A meeting has been set for today to go over the new designs with the planning department, he said.

In February 2010, Stephen Moss, NWT fire marshal, served upper mall management with an order to provide wheelchair accessibility by June 30, 2010.

At the time, Moss admitted the deadline might need to be revisited depending on approval from the city and the mall's ability to find a contractor.

Alan McIntosh, director of public safety for the territory, said there hasn't been a new deadline set for the project.

"The process, it just takes a long time," he said.

"The fire marshal has been monitoring it throughout and that's why there hasn't been any further action taken."

Building owners who fail to comply with orders issued by the fire marshal can be fined up to $500 a day for each day the order is neglected.

McIntosh said although the mall has passed their deadline, they haven't been fined.

"There are always issues in the North with contractors and equipment and different planning criteria, so sometimes things take longer than we might expect. What we're happy with and what we accept at times is that things are moving along and they're moving to get done."

Michelle Gillis, executive director of the NWT Council of Persons with Disabilities, didn't return phone calls by press time.

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