A disabled London, Ont., woman says roadwork has trapped her, and her car, on a dead-end street.
“My biggest concern is (the) EMS paramedics would not be able to get to me,” Linda Smythe told CTV News. “You see the scar on the top of my head? I’ve had three brain aneurysms.”
The 62-year-old’s vehicle is parked in front of her apartment building at the west end of Waverley Place, blocked by construction fencing and a deep excavation that extends the entire width of the dead end street.
Confusing city communications
Smythe provided CTV News with a copy of the construction notice sent by city hall on June 23.
The instructions to residents of the street contains an apparent contradiction about its closure.
On the first page under the subtitle “Motorists,” the letter reads, “Access will be maintained (to) residences and businesses, which remain open during construction.”
However, an appendix subtitled “Street Access and Parking” warns, “Street and driveway access off of Waverley Place will not be possible for the majority of this reconstruction project.”
It directs residents to park on several side streets in the area.
Mobility limitations
Smythe, who walks with the assistance of two canes, says her limited mobility makes parking on the side streets unrealistic.
“If I were to have been able to move my car, it would have had to be parked blocks away. And I would never have been able to walk that far to get to my car. So I’m stuck,” she explained.
In addition, getting between her home and Colborne Street would require walking along the side of the construction zone where the sidewalk has been torn up, the ground is uneven, and the pathway requires navigating around construction equipment and piles of aggregate.
Neighbour Alicia Foord says she notified the city officials listed on the construction notice about addressing Smythe’s situation before construction began.
“It had the project manager’s information on it, so I emailed him with my concerns about my own situation, but also Linda, because I’ve known her for quite some time and I know she has some difficulty getting around,” Foord recalled.
Smythe said she also reached out to city officials, “I tried to reach out to everybody I possibly could to say, ‘Please can we do something about this? We need to do something in a hurry (because) I’m stuck.’ Nobody responded.”
City hall takes action
On Wednesday, CTV News spoke with Jennie Dann, director of Construction and Infrastructure with the City of London.
While visiting the site, Dann said her team has made contact with Smythe.
“We’re working with the contractor to make sure that at least there is a clear footpath through on one side or the other. We’ve reached out so all of our emergency services partners are aware, and they have an access plan, should that be necessary,” Dann said.
“She’s also got our project manager’s number, so if she needs anything, just call us and we’ll be there to help.”
She explained that the city does its best to contact all residents, “We do mail outs. We also do follow-up door knocks. It’s clear with this one, we managed to miss a few folks. This is a great reminder of why it’s so important that we connect with people in advance. We want to learn if anyone has any special circumstances or unique needs so we can help better accommodate and support them through the project.”
And Dann acknowledged the construction notice, “I can see how that can maybe be confusing for some folks. The challenge is that we’re trying to communicate to two groups of people, the people that are driving by on Colborne who want to know if their route is going to be impacted, and the people that directly live on Waverley Place and how will they be affected.”
According to Dann, the most disruptive construction impacting access to the street should be wrapped up in five to six weeks.
In the meantime, because food and pharmacy delivery services can’t reach her apartment, Smythe has a friend delivering food.
“He comes and brings me groceries and passes them over the fence to me,” she explained. “That’s been the only outlet I’ve had to get supplies in.”
