People with disabilities will soon have an easier time enjoying the outdoors in Northern BC with a new project announced in Prince George today.
More than 150 parks, trails and outdoor spaces will be graded on their accessibility and catalogued online.
“People with disabilities want to play outside,” said Pat Harris with Spinal Cord BC “Constantly one of the top ten requests we receive on our provincial information line is about accessibility information, people want to know where they can go.”
Harris says an estimated $80 billion dollars are spent by travellers with disabilities worldwide each year.
Looking beyond the benefits of tourism, PG-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond asked the room to think about the barriers that face people with disabilities in Northern BC.
“Many of us actually have to stop and think about what it would be like to be unable to visit parts of our community, parts of our region simply because we can’t access a site. Most of us have no idea what that is like.”
PG – Mackenzie MLA Mike Morris added that he is optimistic people that may feel trapped in urban or southern parts of the province could visit the north and stay for good because of the improved accessibility.
The project is funded by $215,000 from the provincial government and $80,000 from Northern Development Initiative Trust.
The website documenting the parks is set to go live in December.
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