Wheelchair user hit crossing Southdale Road as paratransit refuses home pickup
CBC
For Tom Mahoney — a wheelchair user with cerebral palsy — having to cross four lanes of traffic on Southdale Road to get to his paratransit stop is the ultimate test of nerves.
Mahoney was hit by a car at the intersection of Southdale Rd. E. and Verulam Street on Jan. 15, adding to a long list of bumps and near misses at the same location that have left the 63-year-old not wanting to cross the busy road again.
In the most recent incident, a car whipping around the corner from Verulam to Southdale hit the side of his wheelchair, ripping off its arm rest. It happened in broad daylight and the driver fled the scene, Mahoney said.
"It's dangerous," he said. "I haven't gone out since."
And while he would rather not risk crossing the street, Mahoney has little choice.
That's because while he lives in an assisted living residence on the north side at 608 Southdale Rd. E., paratransit won't come to that address, forcing him to use the closest pickup point at the No Frills plaza on the south side.
Paratransit is the specialized transit service run by London Transit Commission (LTC). It offers door-to-door transportation for people with a disability that prevents them from using regular bus service. But in Mahoney's case, it's the "door-to-door part" he's missing out on.
LTC provides pick-up and drop-off locations to its contracted company, Voyago, which supplies vehicles and drivers for transportation, a spokesperson for Voyago wrote to CBC News in an email.
Mahoney's residence is run by PHSS Medical and Complex Care in Community and opened in 2013. LTC's specialized transit service used to pick up passengers in front of the complex years ago until the spot was moved, he said.
LTC has done a review and said the plaza pickup spot is still the safest option.
Since the most recent incident, Mahoney says his life is on hold because he relies on the service to get around. He's cancelled appointments and visits to Tim Hortons because he's unwilling to risk crossing the road again. Two months ago, he was bumped by a car near his paratransit stop after coming home from his part-time job at Stronach Arena.
The traffic is "horrible," he said. Ice, snow and rain can also be a deterrent to making the trek across Southdale. Sometimes he waits half an hour outside to be picked up.
"We freeze our tails off while we wait," he said. "It could be a downpour and we [have to] come over there. To me that's very inconvenient ... I don't like it at all."
Four lanes on a busy road is a "long stretch" to travel for someone with any kind of mobility issues said Brian Dunne, president of PHSS.
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