Glebe businesses get free ramps ahead of wheelchair basketball world championship

The Glebe Business Improvement Area is rolling out portable ramps to nearly 40 older storefronts on Bank Street to improve accessibility for the International Wheelchair Basketball World Championship arriving September 9.

The championship will draw 336 athletes, 1,200 participants across 28 teams, and thousands of visitors to TD Place Arena and Carleton University's Raven's Nest through September 19. An audit of about 300 Glebe businesses found that almost 40 stores currently meet accessibility criteria including ramps, proper door widths, and layouts that allow mobility devices to move comfortably. Newer businesses closer to Lansdowne Park largely already meet the standards because they were built more recently. The focus shifted to older storefronts at the heart of the neighbourhood that did not meet criteria.

Irene's Pub on Bank Street is one example. Owner Michael Estabrooks had a custom portable ramp made for the bar and posted a phone number in the window so wheelchair users can call when the bar is busy and the entrance ramp isn't visible. "If anybody is out there, the bar is busy and we're not able to see them, they can just call the number and we can bring the ramp out," Estabrooks said. Seven years ago, Irene's renovated its main-floor washrooms to remove stairs and make them accessible. An accessible mechanical door remains on the horizon for the pub.

Glebe Business Improvement Area executive director Darrell Cox said the BIA reached out to businesses earlier this year ahead of the championships. "We're looking at the current state of accessibility in the Glebe and how to improve on it," Cox said. He noted that older buildings simply weren't designed with accessibility in mind decades ago. "What we found is that in the more central area of the Glebe — with the older stores — that's what we focused on to get those ramps."

Narrow Glebe sidewalks present a practical challenge: businesses cannot keep accessibility ramps outside around the clock. The event is expected to draw thousands of visitors from around the world to the nation's capital.