Updated campus survey shows 9 of 17 buildings don’t have disabled parking

9 buildings do not have accessible parking

Updated August 4, 2009 (see end-note)

In the third survey of accessible parking at the University of Prince Edward Island,  nine of the seventeen campus buildings do not have accessible parking.

Seven of the nine inaccessible buildings are classroom spaces.

Students with disabilities are finding it hard to get to class.

Despite the addition of twenty new accessible parking spaces over the past year, UPEI gets a failing grade for providing students and staff with accessible parking.

UPEI is a host location for the 2009 Canada Games from August 15th to 29th, 2009.

When the university removed the last three accessible parking spaces in August 2008, we were concerned that they would not install replacement disabled parking. That is exactly what happened.

Twenty new parking spots were painted blue but they are not accessible. They are more 50 meters from the building door.

The purpose of accessible parking is to make it possible for people with walking, vision or other disabilities to access buildings from their vehicles.

If students, staff and visitors cannot get to a building without difficulty, they are denied access.

Accessible parking is as close as possible to the door.

By law, disabled parking should be no greater than 50 meters from the door of the building.

Disabled parking is defined by the City of Charlottetown bylaw and the National Building Code.

For some disabilities even 50 meters is too long a distance to walk.

Most organizations insure that Accessible or Disabled Parking is next to the entrance and exit for the convenience of the disabled.

Buildings without accessible parking

Six buildings that are primarily used for classes or instruction are not accessible:  Duffy Science Centre, Main Building, Kelley, Dalton Hall, Atlantic Veterinary College, Cass Science and Memorial. Robertson Library is 88 meters or 180 meters from accessible parking depending on which lot is used.

Accessible classrooms include: the portable classrooms, MacDougall, K.C. Irving and Steele Recital Hall.

The last survey was conducted August and September of 2008 when the University of PEI was removing the parking from Main Building. CTV News covered the removal.

As close as possible

Accessible parking at UPEI does not meet the letter or the spirit of the bylaw which is to allow the disabled to access buildings as close as possible from their vehicles.

The City of Charlottetown Bylaw says “Each reserved Parking Space Shall be situated as close as possible to the location it is intended to serve.”

The closest spots at the Wyatt Dining Hall are reserved for UPEI vehicles

In numerous cases at UPEI, the disabled parking is the the furthest spot from the building. At the Wyatt Centre (cafeteria) the closest parking is for UPEI vehicles and the closest disabled parking is 54 meters unless the daycare parking lot is used. The daycare parking is reserved for patrons and employees of the daycare centre and is not always available for students.

At the Chi-Wan Sports Centre, the one disabled parking space is the furthest space from the entrance. The closer spaces are general metered or reserved.

At the Atlantic Veterinary College all the spaces within the by-law distance are reserved for the Dean, professors and staff. None are designated as “Disabled Parking”

Older buildings at UPEI are grandfathered from meeting the bylaw unless they carry out major renovations. The Main Building disabled parking was removed after a permit to perform multimillion dollar upgrades was approved by the City of Charlottetown.

It was the University itself that committed to improving disabled access in 2007. We submit they are going backwards not forward.

We urge the University of Prince Edward Island to meet its commitment to the community and to the human rights of the disabled by restoring accessible parking for all buildings on campus.

Update – we removed the mobile classrooms from the survey results. They have been pulled from use due to frame rot as of June 2009.