Disability access works near completion in Gatton
The construction coincides with International Day of People with Disability
Gatton
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CONSTRUCTION has started on new access ramps along Railway Street, Gatton, that will help those who suffer from a physical disability access the footpath with greater ease.
The works coincide with today’s marking of International Day of People with Disability that aims to challenge how we think about disability and see the ability in disability.
The Lockyer Valley Regional Council says the works will improve the safety and of the Gatton CBD and provide greater mobility for members of the community.
Gatton resident and wheelchair user Lochlan Thomas welcomed the construction, 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.
Member for Lockyer Jim McDonald was also one of the participants who experienced the lack of accessibility first-hand.
“I look at footpaths and crossings with a completely different set of eyes,” Mr McDonald said.
With a new-found respect and understanding for the daily struggles of people with a disability, Mr McDonald said accessibility in the region needed to be updated.
Construction on the ramps is expected to be complete by Friday, December, 4.
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