Those with loved ones at Huron County’s newest long term care home want a sidewalk built to connect the 160 Southbridge residents with the rest of Goderich.
“There’s no reason not to have an accessible sidewalk for our families to get into town, to go to church, to go do whatever they want to do socially, or go downtown in the summer. It’s really unacceptable,” said Southbridge Goderich Family Council Chair Patty Steenstra.
Steenstra said she knows of at least three Southbridge residents who independently use electric scooters, and up to 15 staff who walk to the long term care home.
Southbridge Goderich Long Term Care Home opened this month on the southern edge of Goderich. Steenstra says the most direct route to and from Southbridge into Goderich is along Highway 21, and a sidewalk along the busy highway just makes sense.
“It’s half a kilometer. We’re not talking miles. And people’s lives are at risk,” said Steenstra.
Goderich’s Mayor Trevor Bazinet said while he hears the family council’s concerns, building a sidewalk along a provincial highway is no simple task.
“To actually implement a sidewalk on the highway - how many highways do you see with sidewalks? Right? We do understand the concern. We have reached out to Ministry of Transportation and look for communication back and we’re still waiting for that communication,” said Bazinet.
Family council members say a sidewalk along Highway 21 would provide accessibility and freedom for the seniors that now call Southbridge Goderich home.
Especially since very few, if any, can still drive.
“Isolation isn’t good for anyone’s mental health. It’s been a hard winter. I haven’t been out a whole lot but if I was here I wouldn’t be able at all,” said local accessibility advocate Mia Berg.
“It would be accessibility for the people that want to get into town and have reasons to go into town. This is a lot farther out than it used to be. It holds them in their rooms, and they can’t get anywhere,” said Southbridge Family Council member Sharon Chuter.
Mayor Bazinet pointed to a brand new asphalt trail built by a local developer - which leads from Southbridge to the shoreline, and eventually through Goderich into downtown.
Not good or direct enough, says Steenstra - who said Southbridge Family Council members are willing to fundraise in order to make a sidewalk from the long-term care home along Highway 21 a reality.
“It’s going to be multiple millions of dollars to do something like that. And, you know, I don’t want to be the person that said ‘we shouldn’t spend money for accessibility.’ But at the end of the day we also have to be fiscally responsible, and I think what this developer has done in this situation is helped out the town by creating this recreational pathway for that neighborhood, and for the people that that are inside the Southbridge facility,” said Bazinet.
Bazinet said he’s spoken with Southbridge about starting their own weekly transportation shuttle into town. He said that’s a much more achievable goal than building a sidewalk along a busy highway.
However, Southbridge Family Council members still believe active and accessible transportation is the way to go.
“I think it’s a doable thing, but they have to get the study going. They have to get the costs so we can go forward and help with that,” said Chuter.
