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Tina Cooper finally realised we had a problem when she went to the local movie theatre.
It took her 5 minutes to drive into town. But it took 10 minutes for the Multiple Sclerosis sufferer to negotiate the short trip from the car park to the cinema.
“What got me started were the obstacles I encountered just getting from the car park to the movies,” she said.
“There were 8 obstacles.”
“I decided that rather than have a moan about it, I’m going to do something about it.”
So the Nelson woman has started a campaign to make Nelson and Tasman more accessible – and she’s calling for help to reclaim the streets.
She wants to hear about your mobility issues as part of a study she hopes will provide a comprehensive list of obstacles that make it hard for people to access shops, use a public toilet, or just make it down the street.
“This is aimed at anyone with a disability of any form and has problems negotiating around Nelson and Tasman,” Ms Cooper said.
“I have found that there are places I can move about easily but I have found there are places that I cannot go or that are very hard to manoeuvre over and through.
“Simple things that an able-bodied person takes for granted: being able to walk on the footpath, step off a kerb, cross the street, go into a shop – can be very difficult.
“A lot of you reading this article are in a similar position to me. If you use a walking stick, walking frame, wheel chair or mobility scooter – you will probably encounter obstacles to getting around.”
Ms Cooper has been dealing with both councils on the issue and she says the key to bringing change is getting people to have their say.
“If you’ve got problems say so – It can’t be fixed unless someone actually complains about it,” she said.
“Tell me. Email or phone me with your issues.
“So far I’ve had a very positive response from the NCC personnel. But it’s a matter of the more people you have who actually say “hey, I’m disabled, I have these problems, do something about it” the more others will listen.
“One person is not always able to do much, but if there were a few thousand, they’d have to sit up and take notice.
“We have nearly 24 thousand (people with disabilities) in Nelson/Tasman, that’s about a fifth of population who struggle just getting around.”
Email Tina at tc.original@xtra.co.nz or phone 545 1929.