Members of Altona's newly formed accessibility committee took to the streets Tuesday in an effort to gain some firsthand experience into some of the barriers faced every day by those with physical disabilities. With the use of wheelchairs, and ear and sight restrictions, the group navigated downtown sidewalks and intersections to see just how accommodating that area of town really is.

Among the group was Mayor Al Friesen who operated a motorized wheelchair for a portion of the exercise before donning a pair of vision impairment goggles for the last half of the route.

"I could see that in today's world, it's a vehicle-driven society, you're on the side of the road kind of waiting for a break in traffic (and) even though you may have the right-of-way it doesn't feel like it," he explained "We can see that the challenges with sidewalks that are bumpy we may never notice them but when you're in a wheelchair or can't see every well, a bump or a lip could cause a serious injury."

In the hours leading up to the exercise Altona was hit with a variety of weather including rain and snow which created muddy, wet conditions that Friesen says made for a more realistic experience of the barriers that exist. 

"If we're trying to work towards making this a barrier-free community these are the things we need to be sensitive to," he added. 

Council has set aside $25,000 in the town's 2019 budget in order to kick start the effort of removing some of these barriers, which Friesen says is the right thing to do for the people that live in the community.

One of those people is Wendy Friesen who is a member of the newly minted committee and played an active role in plotting Tuesday's route. 

For about 7 years she has been living with a physical disability that requires her to use a motorized wheelchair. She says it wasn't until about 3.5 years ago when she moved from her home in the country into Altona and began navigating the town more on her own that she became aware of what poses a challenge to accessibility and what works well.

"Hopefully we can bring a greater awareness to some of those things and little by little start chipping away at some of the improvements."

While she can't speak for those with vision, hearing or other impairments, Friesen said things like railway tracks, bumpy sidewalks and ridges from the street onto sidewalks can be a real challenge to manoeuvre.

For committee chairperson, Amy Pankewich, Tuesday's exercise proved a bit emotional. 

Amy Pankewich navigates an intersection wearing vision-impairing goggles.

"What it meant to me was the chance to represent different individuals who are in our community, but also broader society that have different accessibility needs." 

She added the exercise also served as a method to identify barriers most of us don't even know exist. 

"I am an able-bodied person, I don't recognize a lot of these barriers, and so putting myself in somebody else's shoes...it meant the world to me." 

Pankewich feels accessibility is a basic human right that should include everyone. 

"We talk about respect in sport...and how every child has right to play, but not every child can go to the playground and not every young adult can take themselves to their jobs because of barriers. So, we really need to extend ourselves and lend a hand. It's the right thing to do."

Having grown up in Winnipeg and recently moving to Altona, she feels the town is in a unique position to accomplish this due to its strong sense of love and community. 

Up next, the committee will be sending out a survey to the public to further gauge the accessibility needs in the community. Pankewich hopes that not only those living with disabilities will offer feedback, but also family members, direct support workers and health care professionals. 

"Maybe some barriers we have aren't just physical, maybe they're attitudinal. Maybe we need to be spreading more awareness about all types of accessibility needs," she said. "There are lots of diverse members in this community who have other needs and I think it's important that every one is being equally represented."