A Queenstown woman's "battle" for access and rights for disabled residents has just begun.
Anna Jameson told the Queenstown Lakes District Council's draft annual plan hearing in Queenstown yesterday she wanted to raise some parking, access and disability rights issues.
"[It's] not just about having mobility parks; it's about getting about and having access to the community. I couldn't get into a shop at Arrowtown when I went there with my mother. I was told it was a heritage building, so couldn't have access. So I sat outside like a dog by the lamppost, feeling like a dog being excluded ... While heritage is important, access is paramount," she said.
She had been battling to get into Arrowtown cafes since moving to Queenstown from Dunedin.
"As a wheelchair user, with my 2-year-old son sitting on my knee, I often struggle to cross Buckingham St in Arrowtown from the mobility park outside the Night 'n Day shop."
She had visited the site on two occasions with council staff. The camber of the road was too steep to manoeuvre safely, she said.
She had been instrumental in advocating access and rights for the disabled in Dunedin and helped the Dunedin City Council write its strategy for people with disabilities. She was keen to do something similar in Queenstown.
The council had a duty to ensure disabled people enjoyed the same rights and opportunities as other people, she said.
"It is very difficult to use public transport in Queenstown. The accessible buses are not timetabled. There is no regular mobility-taxi service. I'm very disappointed the new service will not be fully accessible.
"It is important that disabled people can be an active and contributing part of our community and not limited by attitudinal and physical barriers," she said.
She praised the council for putting in a mobility park at Frankton and for proposing free parking for mobility card holders, and she hoped it would develop a disability strategy.
