GINTA – Kamloops must do better at accessibility for visually impaired

DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT YOU WERE DOING on the morning of May 16 at 7:45 or so? Todd Harding does. He was walking downtown to his work with his guide dog, Luke.

The pair stopped on the sidewalk near the intersection of Columbia and Fifth Avenue, waiting for the voice prompt before crossing. Harding is blind, therefore he never crosses before making sure it is safe to do so. Plus, Luke is an experienced guide dog and has so far done a stellar job at taking his owner safely to where he needs to go.

With all the safety measures in place, they started crossing, but only got halfway across the street. A car turning right from Columbia onto Fifth hit both. Harding’s hip was hit hard; he suffered an injured knee and a cracked heel bone and one of Luke’s paws got multiple lacerations and stretched ligaments.

It’s almost the end of July and they are still healing, Harding says.

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Daniela Ginta is a mother, scientist, writer and blogger. She can be reached at daniela.ginta@gmail.com, or through her blog at http://www.danielaginta.com.