Couple struggles with city to make home more accessible

Getting in and out of a car can be a dangerous operation for Mitch Krohn.

After a stroke paralyzed his left side last year, Krohn and his wife, Megan, have been pushing the City of Winnipeg for changes to make it easier for him to get into his home.

Now a video they posted on Facebook has opened up a wider conversation about accessibility in the city.

In the video, Megan demonstrates how difficult it is to get Mitch out of their car, into a wheelchair and into their house. She explains that they've asked the city to cut the curb in front of their house, as well as put a loading zone in front of their house.

"The lower the curb, the safer it is for the transfers," Mitch said in an interview. "'Cause I have fallen out of the car and out of the chair in a transfer before, and the process to get me back into either has been quite difficult."

So far, the city has told the couple they can't cut the curb because it would harm its structural integrity. They are working on getting a loading zone sign, but Megan said they are having difficulty setting loading zone times that work for their schedules.

The city suggested setting the times during regular business hours Monday to Friday, but the couple would like loading zone times extended later into the evening, as well as on weekends, she said.

"We live on a busy street. Evenings and weekends, parking is a hot commodity," she said.

"The other day we went to the symphony. We came home at 10:30 p.m. and there was no parking in front of our home, so we had to go in front of someone else's home. Thankfully they had the area cleared, but if they hadn't, then I would have had to shovel it."

Megan said there have been times when she has had to let Mitch out of the car onto the street and then hoist him over the curb.

The couple lives in the West End and their back door isn't wheelchair accessible, they said.

Mitch, 44, suffered a stroke last December after undergoing emergency surgery to fix an abscess on his spinal cord. He's currently in a long-term care facility, and this will be his first winter coming home.

He hopes to return to work soon. When he does, he'll need Handi-Transit, and that makes having a loading zone necessary, he said.

Since posting their video, the couple has heard from many other people in Winnipeg facing similar problems.

"We feel like we don't have a right to complain about the length of this or how this is impacting us, because there's people that live with inaccessibility issues every day," Megan said.

"There's a lot of people who deal with this all the time. Some people just don't leave their house in the winter."

A city spokesperson said they are working with Mitch to get a loading zone for his house. Loading zone times are generally set during normal business hours, Monday to Friday, and the city works with residents to make adjustments where possible, Lisa Fraser said in an email.

"When reviewing these requests, the needs of the general street user for on-street parking are balanced with the needs of specific users/property owners for loading zones," Fraser wrote.

It can take up to a year to make arrangements for the appropriate signs, she said, and there are a number of reasons why the city doesn't cut curbs.

"[Including] safety issues such as children thinking the ramp is a sidewalk and unknowingly running out from between parked cars into traffic, as well as snow clearing issues which may result in curb damage," Fraser said.

Within 24 hours of CBC contacting city officials and councillors about the couple's concerns, the status of their request for a loading zone changed.

Coun. Cindy Gilroy said the couple has been approved for a seven-day-a-week loading zone from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and it will be installed within the next few weeks.

The city said it has received 183 requests for loading zones this year, and 208 last year, but it doesn't track which of those requests are related to accessibility or, for example, were requested by businesses. 

The city spokesperson also said they could not say how many of those requests are still outstanding.

Couple struggles with city to make home more accessible

7 years ago

Duration 1:58

After a stroke paralyzed his left side last year, Mitch Krohn and his wife, Megan, have been pushing the City of Winnipeg for changes to make it easier for him to get into his home.