How can we be considered a world class city, if our subways aren't wheelchair accessible???
Remember, when not so long ago I was pissed about why my tax dollars are being used to fund Provincial dental for kids under the age of seventeen? Since then I’ve remembered, thanks to a teacher who wrote to me in support of my musing on the subject, that when I was in elementary school we all had dental check ups, in the lunchroom, by a visiting dentist. Once a year, whether we had private dental care, or not. This dentist would then write his/her recommendation for future good mouth health. This was covered via the taxes my mom already paid to the government by checking off “public school system” when she filed. This teacher, sorry I don’t recall your name, forgive me…I barely remember my own name these days, a side benefit of dropping/changing hormones is what I’ve been told…anyway, this post is not about that, this is about the fact that, there already is free dental for kids under seventeen. It is also available, as this teacher pointed, out through dental schools. As in, Universities where dental programs are an option. I also remember this to be true, since we took advantage of this the first time we lived in LA, and we were broke. Dental schools/programs at places, such as UCLA, will treat anybody for basically FREE, so the future dentists can actually learn how to be dentists on real live people. Shocking information, I know! But true.
Which makes me “go hmmm.” Why are we taking more tax dollars to put into something that is already covered? Like why more dental health care, when, for example my friends son can’t get on the subway, because he is in a wheelchair.
You see, Toronto this first class, world class city, isn’t accessible to everybody. Not by a long shot. Which begs the question, how can we call ourselves world class if a large percentage of our citizens can’t get around their city???
We had dinner at this friend’s restaurant last night, he sat with us for a while, and shared with us, how his son, should he want to go out on his own, he’s sixteen now, and doesn’t want his mom, or dad going on his dates with him, cannot. I mean well, according to the head of the TTC, who our friend contacted, on more than one occasion to challenge them to make all their stations wheelchair accessible, continues to be told: “Well we do have thirty-four stations that are wheelchair accessible. If he takes the bus to the subway station you’re closest to, he can get to Bloor, which is wheelchair accessible. Our buses are almost 100% wheelchair accessible.”
Wow guy, that is SO NOT HELPFUL, at all. You see my friends live like five or six stations away from either of the two stations “closest” to them that are accessible to their son. So what this guy is telling them, is that their son can get around if he plans his dates, etc, anywhere one of the thirty-four stations are. But first he has to take a bus to his station, which is NOT wheelchair accessible, to get on another bus that will go to another station, then on to another that will get him to the station “closest to him” that is accessible to him. Ok. Sure. Sounds like a practical thing for him to do, for the REST OF HIS LIFE.
Toronto’s transit system is supposed to be fully wheelchair, stroller, and walker friendly by 2025. But it’s not going to happen they say. They won’t meet that governed deadline, because they don’t have the money. They are something like $240 million shy of having what they need to pay for the retrofitting of the other thirty five stations.
Great. That’s so helpful, for nobody. But hey, we should DEFINITELY be funding free dental, which is already a thing as it turns out (why doesn’t this surprise me???)and IV treatments for people who are having difficulty getting pregnant.
Yeah, absolutely, such a smart use of tax payers dollars, let’s give people one round of IV…HELLO! EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT IV USUALLY TAKES MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS IF IT IS GOING TO WORK.
One round? One round of IV. Such an amazingly, well thought out way to spend our money.
But let’s not give one fuck as to whether or not people who are living life in a wheelchair can, you know, go out on dates, or anywhere actually, at their leisure.
Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm…
