Mahone Bay, N.S., introduces new accessibility guidelines for sidewalk patios

CBC

a day ago

Any future sidewalk patio applications in Mahone Bay, N.S., will need to meet new accessibility guidelines following a decision from the town council after the fall of a well-known senior who later died.
Council has adopted — several months early — the provincial accessibility standards that are due to come into effect next April, after hearing what it described as a "significant volume" of both support and concern about the structures.
The town began a review of its streets and sidewalk bylaw after 100-year-old Barbara Minard fell earlier this summer outside a restaurant patio.
She suffered injuries to her hand and died several days later.
No connection between the fall and her death has been officially confirmed.
"We've heard all voices at the table," said Mayor Suzanne Lohnes-Croft. "So it's something that we thought would help."
However, the change is not retroactive, so Eli + Trix on Main Street remains in compliance, Lohnes-Croft said, noting the restaurant has made a number of modifications to its structure since the incident.
The new regulations would require any future installations to be wider to make it easier for mobility scooters to navigate, she said as an example.
While the town is writing to the restaurant to ask the business to align with the Nova Scotia Built Environment Accessibility Standard, that is simply a request and not mandatory.
"We're trying to find a balance," Lohnes-Croft said. "It's challenging for businesses to make these adjustments as well."
Minard's family wants the wooden walkway of the patio removed so the sidewalk is restored to its original form. They say council's action does not go far enough.
They've been supported by a number of people who signed a petition that was presented to council. Among them is Antony Irving, who said the walkway is narrow and difficult to navigate on his mobility scooter.
"I think it somehow slipped through and hasn't had proper analysis of what the implications of it are," Irving said.
Ann Crossman presented the petition to council.
"This was not blaming anyone or dragging the whole thing through, this was merely safety because Barbara wanted the sidewalk for the people," Crossman said.
Eli + Trix owner Danielle King has maintained since the incident that Barbara Minard fell on the sidewalk, not the wooden walkway.
But she said she has made numerous adjustments, including widening the walkway's corners to better accommodate scooters, as well as installing signage, reflectors, traffic cones, metal transition plates and extra railings.
'We did all of the right things'
The town had full oversight during construction of the structure, King said, adding it is not realistic to request a new set of standards with time running out in the patio season.
"The patio took three months to build, it would require at least three or four days to take it apart, and to rebuild it again would certainly take another couple of weeks," King said. "I am $10,000 to $12,000 into this patio for what is a very short season already."
The patio, which has 22 seats, is well used and the backlash against her business has had a detrimental impact, she said.
"We did all of the right things. Unfortunately, a terrible accident happened," King said.