Parking in Chilliwack for Wheelchair users

Good day,

I have lived in Chilliwack since 2004 and over the years, my mobility has gradually declined. I now must use a wheelchair full time, but despite this, I am extremely independent. I wish to share my experience with accessible parking in Chilliwack in hopes that myself and others in my situation can enjoy all that Chilliwack has to offer without fear of prejudice and harrassment.

When I first moved here, I was much more mobile than I am now and could get by with assistance from a cane. Over the years, my needs have changed drastically and as stated above, I now find myself a full time wheelchair user. As a result, I needed to upgrade my vehicle and currently drive a van that has been lifted to accommodate an automatic side ramp. My vehicle is obviously converted by Sidewinder and has decals notifying others of the ramp and the need for 8 feet of clearance on the right side. In addition to this, I also have my wheelchair parking placard displayed from my rear view mirror. While I noticed the lack of wheelchair parking across the city (with the exception of very few businesses) when I initially moved here, locating parking has become even more burdensome now that I require a wider stall on a flat surface with a painted median beside it to accommodate the length of my ramp.

While I appreciate the efforts that have been made to date, I've noticed many wheelchair accessible spots in Chilliwack are either regular stalls that have been designated with the wheelchair logo, or even if they are true accessible spots, they are only 1 foot wider than "normal" stalls. Additionally, many do not provide a safe conduit to the businesses they are meant to serve, are on uneven or unpaved surfaces, are next to a curb or beside another solid barrier. I can appreciate Chilliwack is an older town and many areas in the downtown area are tightly packed, rendering parking at a premium. That is something I can talk about another time, because today I would like to share my experience with parking in Eagle Landing and how it has affected me.

This morning I attended Walmart. In arriving at 1100am, the lot was beginning to get quite full. All the wheelchair spots were full, so I went to a vacant area towards the middle of the lot and parked across two stalls. The stalls are quite narrow, so in order for me to have enough space to deploy my ramp and roll out, I needed to barely park just over the line between the stalls. It appears people see this as a challenge because I have been boxed in many times. I have even had to wait in inclement weather for others to return to their cars just so I can get in mine, once for nearly 40 minutes in the rain. This is especially problematic because of the cost to replace electronic components of the wheelchair that have been damaged by water. I do not receive assistance for these repairs and to give you an idea of costs, the joystick unit alone would cost between $3000-$5000 to replace. While I am grateful to have a job, many disabled people struggle at or below the poverty line and this is an unreachable repair for them.

Thankfully, this day I was able to return to my van without someone occupying the stall next to me. However once I entered my van and began calling in the ramp, a lady decided to enter the stall beside me by driving through from the opposite side. I like to think she couldn't have seen my decals because she entered the stall from behind. If I needed to exit my van immediately upon entering it, I would have been trapped. This is significant because of what happened next across the street at Life Labs, when I had to exit my van after I had transferred to the drivers seat.

I had a 1230 appointment at Life Labs and because I left Walmart early, I arrived by 1145. I was unable to find any wheelchair parking as the lot was very full. I was fortunate to find two spots together outside of Brown's restaurant and parked, exiting my van to get to the lab. This was very dangerous for me because traffic in the lot is tight and awkward. It is filled with often aggressive drivers and I had to navigate speedbumps and the road way before reaching the safety of the sidewalk outside the lab. Following my appointment I returned to my vehicle, deployed my ramp, transferred to the driver seat and suddenly saw a note on my windshield. I am including a photo of what I noticed because the paper is obscuring my windshield and my placard clearly displayed.

I was unable to retrieve the note from inside my vehicle so I needed to transfer back to my chair and go to the front of my van to remove it. As I mentioned earlier, the van is raised... so being in a wheelchair makes it impossible to touch the hood, let alone reach something off the windshield. Thankfully, my chair is advanced and can elevate, and I was able to make myself tall enough to grab the note.

Here is a photo of the note I took once I was back inside my van:

Today I felt targeted, harassed, embarrassed, and shamed for my disability by an individual I will never be able to talk to because they were not bold enough to leave their contact info. My power was taken away from me again today, and I know this scenario will continue to happen until parking spots are made available for those with customized vehicles. This is the anxiety I face each time I go out in my own community.

I share this because I want the author of this note, and anyone else who has perpetrated this passive act of aggression to know that disabled people are valued members of this community. We have the right to use all the unique businesses in Chilliwack as much as the next person. If there are no available designated spots, or if the spots available are obscured by barriers or are too narrow, what is a disabled driver to do?

Please Chilliwack.... take this into consideration. I want to remain independent and active, but my options are dwindling.

Regards, Jo-Lynn L.