Adrienne Corti is accustomed to the daily challenges that come with having a disability and finding solutions. For the Pelham resident, who has limited mobility, this means grabbing a device to help her reach the items on the top of a grocery shelf or using a step stool to help lift herself into a van.
So, the senior said, it came as a surprise that her concerns about the washroom facility were quickly addressed while visiting the Fonthill branch of the Lincoln Pelham Public Library earlier this month.
Corti visited the Fonthill branch with a friend on Jan. 5. It was during a washroom break, Corti said, she experienced some difficulty using the disabled stall.
“The toilet paper dispenser (sat) way back to the right. You have to twist your arm backward to reach the paper, which can be difficult.”
Corti added that having a higher toilet seat installed and the handrail bar lowered slightly would make it easier for people with limited mobility to use the washroom.
“I emerged with an urge to write to the library about the accessibility issues,” Corti said. “I was thinking, ‘I wonder who I could write about this.’”
After she searched for the library website, Corti said she found the appropriate email address and shared her thoughts.
That was on a Friday afternoon and by Tuesday, Corti had received a response from Amy Guilmette, the library’s Director of Customer Service, in her email inbox.
In the letter, Guilmette wrote there are plans in the works to renovate the building “in the next year or so” that will fix any accessibility issues.
“I was happy to have feedback that I could pass along to the correct people for some immediate changes,” Guilmette said and added that a Town staff member visited the site and made some changes to the disabled stall, including moving the handrail bar, and toilet paper dispenser.
Corti said she is glad she decided to speak up and let her concerns be known.
“Sometimes we experience frustration and just go on with our day with irritability. This proved to me that it is better to take action and experience delight and uplift instead, knowing we can make a difference for ourselves and others.”
This proved to me that it is better to take action and experience delight and uplift
The Accessibility for Ontarians With Disabilities Act (AODA) requires all businesses and organizations in the province to identify, remove, and prevent barriers to accessibility.
As per the AODA, all businesses and organizations in Ontario must be fully accessible by 2025.
The library’s Chief Executive Officer, Julie Andrews, said plans to renovate the library branch will be completed to make sure it is fully accessible by 2025.
“There was an RFP in 2023 and a contract has been awarded so the design for the renovation project is underway and we’re excited about that,” Andrews said.
“We’re going to be going out to the community several times over the next months to get feedback on what we’re trying to do and our design plans.”
Andrews couldn’t speculate on what the renovations would look like because planning is still in the early stages.
“We do know that accessibility is going to be vastly different. That’s what is going to be the main focus,” Andrews said. “So there will be new and accessible washrooms and there will be an elevator that will enable us to make use of our lower level.”
Andrews said that the budget is also unknown.
“The design process is just starting so we’ll have a better idea of what costs are when we get a little further down that process but the goal is for it to be much more manageable (than the cost for a new building).”
In 2022, the Town of Pelham closed the book on previous plans to build a new library branch near the Meridian Community Centre due to increased cost.
Pelham was awarded a $5.4 million grant from the federal government’s Inclusive Community Buildings Program for the construction of a new branch. However, at the time the grant application was submitted, the projected cost of a new building was pegged at $9.5 million.
By the time the grant was awarded to the municipality, construction costs had increased by 82 percent, or $17.3 million.
Pelham Council later decided to investigate the costs of renovating the existing branch at 43 Pelham Town Square.
Andrews encouraged people to watch for more information about upcoming open house dates where people can provide their input.
“We’ll have it on our website, our social media, and in our newsletter. We’ll have it any place people are looking for the information,” Andrews said. “We’re just starting the process so you’ll probably start seeing information in a few months.”