Advocates say Yellowknife needs to do more for pedestrian accessibility

Advocates say Yellowknife needs to do more for pedestrian accessibility

Only 2 of 19 intersections in the city are equipped with audible pedestrian signals

As summer brings people out onto Yellowknife's streets, accessibility advocates say the city should do more to make crossings safe for visually impaired pedestrians.

That includes installing more pedestrian signals that provide auditory, visual and vibrotactile cues to inform pedestrians who are blind or visually impaired when it's safe to cross.

Of the nineteen intersections in the city, only two are equipped with audible signals, according to a spokesperson for the city.

In an email to CBC, the spokesperson says the city has not installed more because of the close spacing of blocks in the downtown core.

“Signals from nearby intersections could overlap, creating confusion for users and posing a safety concern,” the email read.

But Denise McKee, chief executive officer of the N.W.T. Disabilities Council, doesn't buy that answer. She says many municipalities have accessible crosswalks throughout their cities.

“This idea that they would drown each other out is not an issue,” she said.

The city also said it hasn't "received requests for audible pedestrian signals outside of the downtown core."

Deb Bignell, an orientation and mobility specialist with Vision Loss Rehabilitation Canada, travels to the territory every few months to help residents navigate the city. She said she is in the process of making requests to the city — reaching out on behalf of clients who wanted accessible crossing signals installed near their homes.

McKee says a lack of requests also does not mean a lack of need.

“People with disabilities often adapt and accept unsafe conditions as a part of life because their needs are not considered or ignored," she said.

The City of Yellowknife is also currently working towards a transportation plan, which has involved meetings with representatives from the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) to discuss accessibility for those with vision loss.

During those conversations, the CNIB team emphasized the need to “standardiz[e] audible pedestrian signals and ensur[e] they are correctly oriented and functional,” among other points.

The city also told CBC that it does not track the number of local residents living with disabilities or the specific types of disabilities they have.

Statistics Canada and the N.W.T. Bureau of Statistics do collect that data.

McKee says that local data is necessary for proactive municipal planning — whether for infrastructure or healthcare or any other required services.

“You have to have a baseline of how many people are affected and how many people are impacted," she said, "and what it will look like in five years... [or] 10 years."

For long-time resident, Susanne Westerhof, a deep familiarity with the city helps mitigate some challenges but does not help eliminate them completely.

Westerhof has age-related macular degeneration which has left her without central vision in both eyes. While she retains peripheral vision, she was deemed legally blind in 2019.

Having lived in Yellowknife for the past 40 years, Westerhof says she is familiar enough with the city that she can navigate it under most circumstances in the summer.

But increasingly, pedestrian traffic has become a challenge.

“They have their noses on their cellphones, which is very annoying," she said. "I have to ask them to get out of my way, or look where they're going.”

Bignell says that residents and local businesses can easily help by making the streets safer and being more attentive to their surroundings.

For business owners, this means ensuring there is always a clear sidewalk path by tucking sandwich board signs closer to their storesfronts.

Yumna Iftikhar is a Pakistani Canadian journalist covering the impact of federal policies on minority communities. She also writes about climate change and Canada’s energy transition journey. Yumna holds a Master of Journalism from Carleton University. She can be reached at yumna.iftikhar1@cbc.ca