Cornelius Van Dyke uses a wheelchair and has a plot of vegetables at the CNIB garden on 52 Street. The illegally parked vehicle is blocking the only curb cut, meaning Van Dyke can't wheel up onto the sidewalk to access the garden or his vegetables. - photo courtesy of Cornelius Van Dyke. |
Illegally parked cars blocking plots
Man says he has been denied access to CNIB garden
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Published Friday, July 25, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Yellowknifers with mobility issues or vision loss have been able to keep their thumbs green thanks to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) "square foot garden" on 52 Street across from Coast Fraser Tower.
However, one of the gardeners has expressed frustration with people parking illegally, blocking wheelchair access to the garden.
Cornelius Van Dyke has been using a wheelchair for the past 10 years and said he needs it to get around and the curb cuts provided by the city are very important to him.
But he says this year, about half of the time that's he arrived at the garden to find a car has been parked in a no-parking zone, meaning he can't get up on to the sidewalk and to his vegetables through the curb cut.
Van Dyke said he doesn't like to complain, but he was frustrated enough to write city hall asking that bylaw officers patrol the area and ticket illegally-parked vehicles.
"Money talks," he stated in the letter.
"If offenders are assessed a cost for ignoring the signage, perhaps they'll learn not to block the garden access."
There are 12 separate plots in the garden that people have been using to grow fruits and vegetables since 2010.
"We have everything from strawberries to rhubarb to carrots and potatoes," said Norma Jarvis, the CNIB's Northwest Territories regional manager.
"It allows our gardeners to feel some real independence. Instead of somebody caring for them, they get to care for something."
Jarvis agreed with Van Dyke and, in fact, said she'd like the city to go one step further.
"The sidewalk in the area is in desperate need of repair," she said.
"However, I've been told by city officials that there's no money in the budget for the repairs, at least not this year," she said.
Jarvis said she also agreed with Van Dyke that neither one of them wanted to put a negative spin in what otherwise has been a very positive story.
But she said it's not fair that a person in a wheelchair has been denied access to his garden by what she said she sees as an insensitive motorist.
Jarvis said the garden is a labour of love for many, but it could not happen without the financial assistance from Dominion Diamonds.
"They've helped us out and are committed to do so again next summer, but I'm always looking for new sponsors. It takes $6,000 to $8,000 a year to maintain the garden," Jarvis said.
