A local business has partnered with Kwantlen Polytechnic University in an effort to make Cloverdale streets safer and more accessible for those with disabilities.
Stan Leyenhorst, owner of Universal Access Design, signed a 5-year partnership deal with KPU to do research on a wide-range of projects.
Universal Access Design (UAD) is a consultation firm that specializes in design consulting on new buildings, assessments and reporting on accessibility, and provides education services about universal design.
The partnership is beneficial to both. UAD gets a student to do research projects for the betterment of Cloverdale. KPU gets to increase the amount of research it does—something that will greatly benefit the university.
As for this specific project, UAD was assigned a student to go out and map downtown Cloverdale sidewalks, streets, and intersections for walkability and accessibility. When Leyenhorst presented the project to KPU, they matched the project up with Tracy Macatangay, an applied geography student.
“The project is for research purposes,” explained Leyenhorst. “When it’s finished, then we’ll look at the practical (applications) for Tracy’s work.”
Macatangay measured and photographed a large chunk of the downtown core of Cloverdale.
When she was out mapping the streets, she looked for problem areas. She looked at sidewalk impediments and kept an eye out for any hazards that may be present.
"We want to see the alignment,” Macatangay said. “We want to see if the pathway is clear for the visually impaired, if they can safely find their way from one corner of the street to another at an intersection. Is the sidewalk wide enough? Or if there's any other concerns, like if an intersection needs a stop sign, or a pedestrian crossing."
"We look for trip hazards on the concrete, low stuff that you can hit your head on," added Leyenhorst. "I gave her a bunch of criteria to look for, based on accessibility."
For every intersection she visited, Macatangay took between 50 and 80 photographs and compiled extensive data.
Leyenhorst said he gave Macatangay a little bit of info on what to do and where to start, but he relied on her to bring her expertise to the project and move it forward on her own.
Macatangay made detailed maps of 22 intersections and the sidewalks in between them.
The completed project will be shared with the Coverdale Community Association, of which Leyenhorst is a board member, the Cloverdale District Chamber of Commerce, and the Cloverdale Business Improvement Association. Each group will use the data to help improve Cloverdale for people with disabilities.
Macatangay presented the data to a panel at KPU Nov. 29. Later, Leyenhorst will present the data to Surrey City Council, at which point the city will use it to further improve local sidewalks and intersections.
“We want to have a positive influence on Cloverdale,” Leyenhorst added. "Ideally, we do another one and expand it out. And then I'd like to do another one on transit. And then I’d like to do another one on linkage, which is cycle paths and pedestrian pathways.”
He said he has a number of plans for future projects. And he will get more students involved because it's good work experience for them, he said, as the projects are done on a volunteer basis.
"I have a number of plans, but it takes time,” Leyenhorst explained. "It takes my time, I don't get paid for this, but I see it as a benefit to the community, and we're part of the community, and we want to make it better here."
