Electronic Wheelchair lift in the Christenson Sports and Wellness Centre.

By Adam Ophus

Community Award

Rocky Mountain House honoured for being accessible to all

Feb 11, 2020 | 2:19 PM

On Saturday, the Town of Rocky Mountain House received the Community Development and Inclusive Community Award from Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Alberta.

Rocky was recognized for providing its resident with one of the most accessible recreational and down town areas in the province.

An anonymous individual or group nominated the town for its accessibility.

Doug Manderville with Spinal Cord Injury Alberta (left) and Rocky Mtn. House Mayor Tammy Burke. (Photo: Town of Rocky Mountain House)

Doug Manderville, Regional Program Coordinator from SCI Alberta, did an accessibility audit and found that the town was very deserving of the award.

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“He even joked about moving here because of how accessible it was,” Mayor Tammy Burke jested.

Burke mentioned that it was during an Alberta Urban Municipalities Association Meeting (AUMA) she heard that the Town of Cochrane did a rollability study.

On June 12, 2017 fifteen members of Town of Cochrane staff spent the day in wheelchairs or mobility devices and explored the town and had found that it really opened their eyes.

“When we did our walkability study, council said hey, what about rollability,” stated Town Communications Coordinator Laura Button.

“Over 95 percent of the stores on Main Street have zero grade and you don’t have to step up into them, and that was all done when we did the Main Street renovations in 2014 through to 2016,” Button described.

During the audit, Manderville was pleased to see that in the Christenson Sports and Wellness Centre alone there was wheelchair-accessible gym equipment, roll -in and roll-out showers, accessible washrooms on both floors an elevator and much more.

“I think we can all be proud of the community we live in, we are proving to be an accessible, welcoming and diverse community for all to enjoy,” Burke proudly claimed.