• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Cerebral Palsy Association of BC

Life Without Limits

  • Donate
  • Support Hotline: 604-408-9484 / 1-800-663-0004
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Main navigation

  • About Us
    • About Cerebral Palsy
    • Mission & Vision
    • History of CPABC
    • Board of Directors
    • Staff
    • Contact
  • Programs & Services

    Workshops

    • Legal Resources

    Recreation

    • Photo & Video Release
    • Programs Calendar
    • Adapted Yoga
    • Dance Without Limits
    • Movement Therapy

    Support & Referrals

    • Family & Individual Support
    • CP Connections

    Financial Resources

    • Camperships
    • Equipment Subsidy
    • Janna Epp Bursary
    • Education Bursaries

    Resources

    • Cerebral Palsy Awareness Project on Vancouver Island
    • Vancouver Island Resource Guides
    • Resource Links
      • Resource Links: Coronavirus (COVID-19)
    • Publications
      • Lending Library
    • Disability Awareness Presentations
  • Events
    • Annual General Meeting
    • World CP Day | BC 4 CP
    • Get Fit for CP Challenge
  • News & Media
    • Subscribe to our eNewsletter
    • News Blog
    • Youth Blog
    • In the Media
    • Communications Etiquette
  • Our Impact
    • Impact Stories
    • Videos
    • Annual Reports
  • Membership
  • Support Us
    • Donate
    • Membership
    • Volunteer
    • Reasons to Donate
    • Other Ways to Give
    • Host a fundraising event
    • Corporate Giving
    • Donors & Supporters
  • First Diagnosis

News Blog · July 6, 2009

A Mother’s Persistence Pays Off

By Tammy Van der Kamp

Most Canadian parents take for granted their children’s right to public education.   We pack our kids off to kindergarten at 5, and some 12 years later they graduate from high school, with only the usual bumps along the road.

For Kimberley Yanko’s son, the bumps were mountains, and they needed moving.

Kimberley’s 18 year old son Daniel is a grade 12 student at Port Moody’s                     Heritage Mountain Secondary School.  He uses a wheelchair for mobility.

Because truly accessible transit is not yet a reality, Kimberley Yanko couldn’t take Daniel’s right to a public education for granted.

The problem began with HandyDART’s policy against providing transportation to and from secondary schools.  HandyDart’s position was that access to school property was the responsibility of the provincial Ministry of Education.  Since the Ministry of Education provides funding to school districts for the transportation of ALL students, whether or not they require mobility aids, Ms. Yanko was encouraged to take up the issue with her school district.

But Daniel was stuck getting from school to a transition program at Douglas College – a program which does not fall within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education.

During the first three months of school, because of the HandyDART policy, Daniel waited patiently at a regular bus stop by the side of the road with his fellow students.  Often he got left behind.  Sometimes the bus filled up at the regular stop before Daniel got on; and he had been denied access there on several occasions.  When Daniel went to the accessible stop, there wasn’t room for him, because the bus had capacity in front of the school at the regular stop.  Other times the lift didn’t work.  And sometimes priority seating for people with disabilities was not enforced, and a stroller or cart took up the accessible space.

Kimberley Yanko kept records of all her correspondence with Translink; and she kept records for the$710.35 she spent on taxis over a three month period to get Daniel to his program at Douglas College.

Translink CEO Tom Prendergast acknowledged in an interview with CTV that it is Translink’s responsibility to improve accessible transit.  So, to shine some light on the issue, Kimberley Yanko got busy and moved the mountain for Daniel – but according to BC Coalition For People With Disabilities’ Jane Dyson, there are many more stories like Daniel’s. Unfortunately, Translink deals with each complaint on a one-to-one basis, rather than addressing the systemic issue.

On May 8th, Daniel, along with two of his Heritage Mountain Secondary peers and Kimberley, organized a rally at the Coquitlam Bus Depot to raise awareness of these issues.

As a result of her actions, some really practical changes have been made to accessible transit.  For instance, HandyDART will now do pick-ups and drop-offs from school property to non-school related programs like the one Daniel attends at Douglas College.  HandyDART’s website is more accessible, and the complaint process for people with disabilities has also improved.  One of the biggest victories is that busses are no longer permitted to leave the yard when a lift isn’t operational.

However, real change takes place only when policy changes are implemented.

So Kimberley’s fight isn’t over yet: she’s working toward increasing the overall 51 percent of accessible bus stops in Metro Vancouver.  The Village of Anmore has rallied to Kim’s fight, committing to a hundred percent accessible stops wherever possible, and has agreed to work with Access Transit to realize that goal.

Kimberly has also requested that the Village of Anmore be the first Metro Vancouver municipality to pass a bylaw stating that every new or replacement bus stop must be accessible to people with disabilities.  She intends to take her campaign to all 22 Metro Vancouver municipalities.  So far, another 12 municipalities have applied to Translink for bus stop upgrades.  10 more have yet to apply.

The Cerebral Palsy Association of BC applauds Kimberley’s perseverance and dedication to the fight for truly barrier-free public transportation for people with disabilities.  Thank you, Kimberly!

See Kimberley and Daniel’s online petition for further updates, and to read Daniel’s story in his own words.  http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/translinkfailspwd?e

Related Posts

  • Wheelchair accessibilityWe Need More Accessibility Priorities in Public Transit
  • How the Tanabe Bursary helps students with CP
  • Arctic adventure inspires fundraiser for Life Without Limits
  • Summer Student Research Program needs you!Summer Student Research Program needs you!

Filed Under: News Blog Tagged With: british columbia, HandyDART, translink

Previous Post: « On The Road: Kinsmen in Kelowna
Next Post: The Need for Hip Surveillance in Children with CP »

Primary Sidebar

CPABC Brochure
Download our CPABC Brochure 2015

Categories

  • Adapted Recreation (3)
  • Aging (2)
  • Blog (33)
  • Child Care and Development (6)
  • Events (10)
  • Financial Supports (2)
  • Health (5)
  • Home Features (6)
  • Impact Stories (27)
  • In the Media (30)
  • News Blog (278)
  • Seniors (2)
  • Trust & Estate Planning (2)
  • Youth Blog (34)
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Footer

About CPABC

Cerebral Palsy Association of British Columbia is a non-profit organization. Our vision is to create a Life Without Limits for people with disabilities.

Cerebral Palsy Association of BC An affiliate of United Cerebral Palsy

Support Us

Find a Clothing Bin Near You
Become a Member
Volunteer
Donate

Charitable Registration
BN 10690 4204 RR0001

Contact Us

Cerebral Palsy Association of British Columbia

Cerebral Palsy Association of British Columbia
330 – 409 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada  V6C 1T2

Telephone: 604.408.9484
Toll-free: 1.800.663.0004
info@bccerebralpalsy.com

Join Our Mailing List →

© 2023 Cerebral Palsy Association of British Columbia, an affiliate of United Cerebral Palsy · Website by TM · Site Map