Council to provide much needed access upgrades in Gatton CBD
Disability advocates say the work to upgrade Gatton CBD to a wheelchair-friendly status is long overdue.
Gatton
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CONSTRUCTION will start next week on four new access ramps from the road to the footpaths along Railway Street, Gatton.
Council says the works will improve the safety of the CBD and provide greater mobility for members of the community with disabilities and people with prams.
Lockyer Valley Mayor Tanya Milligan said the upgrade would bring accessibility in the Gatton CBD to a new standard.
“The addition of these ramps will improve the safety of the CBD and provide greater mobility for our community” Cr Milligan said.
Gatton resident and wheelchair user Lochlan Thomas welcomed the announcement but said the works should have been completed two to three years ago.
He said people with disabilities find it hard to get around Gatton.
“Gatton is not very wheelchair friendly, but ramps will make it a lot easier to get around” Mr Thomas said.
He told the Gatton Star it was also hard for people with disabilities to get into many of the shops in Gatton’s Railway Street due to many of them being heritage listed, which made it difficult to make them wheelchair friendly.
“Often shop owners have to come outside to serve you” Mr Thomas said.
In 2018, LVRC councillors Jason Cook and Chris Wilson also participated in the challenge and agreed more consideration for people with a disability was needed.
“The challenge has opened our eyes up dramatically,” Cr Cook said.
Disability parking bays will also gradually be moved to “more suitable locations” Cr Milligan said, which forms part of a project to improve access in Railway Street.
Council says the sites will be cleared this Friday and construction of the ramps will begin on Monday November 30.
Construction will take place between 4am and 9am daily, to minimise disruption to businesses and shoppers as the festive season nears.
The project is expected to be completed by Friday December, 4.
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