How to use a wheelchair in the snow

Matthew Norris can pop wheelies to avoid snow in his wheelchair.

But the technique only goes so far—especially when snow removal, whether on streets, in parking lots, or on sidewalks, doesn’t happen.

The winter wonderland that some look forward to takes on a very different shape to Norris and wheelchair users like him.

“When it snows, it’s my number one enemy,” he said.

And that nemesis may return sooner rather than later.

Snow struggles

Sitting in his chair in the Langley Community Centre, Norris held his hand just a couple centimetres off the gym floor next to the small wheels at the front of his wheelchair.

“If [the snow] is a bit more than that, it’s a problem,” he said. The small wheels get caught before the larger wheels, he explained. Footplates can also jam into small amounts of snow.

Sometimes, not getting stuck means staying home. Snow can separate wheelchair users from community, family, friends, and activities—like the wheelchair basketball practice in Langley that Norris was gearing up for.

Brandon Twaites, a grade 11 student and another wheelchair basketball player, can also get frustrated by snow. Sidewalks, especially when they aren’t shoveled or salted, are a big issue.

“When it’s deeper, it’s sort of like going through grass or snow or sand. It’s a lot more friction,” he said. “Usually, the easy part of a wheelchair is you can push it and roll for a bit.”

Twaites, who has cerebral palsy, can walk short distances. He uses his wheelchair for most day-to-day activities, including high school and several sports. Norris can also stand and walk for a short period. “But I’m not the biggest fan of it,” he said. Being able to stand and walk, both said, help them avoid getting stuck.

It can be much worse for teammates with less mobility. That, in turn, impacts the community that surrounds them. Fewer players are able to get to activities, like wheelchair basketball practice.

“Other people that I know in wheelchairs, that have less function than I do [and] can’t just walk to their chair or walk to the car, have had to cancel for that reason,” Twaites said.

“I’ve been pretty lucky, just due to my disability where I have enough function to walk, where there’s others that I know that would have a lot harder of a time to get there.”

Snow solutions

At one point, Twaites and his family used a borrowed quad to plow up and down their residential street while city plows worked on higher-traffic routes. A better plowing process for neighbourhoods, Twaites said, would make streets and their sidewalks easier to use. But the real need is more preparation.

“It’s being proactive, rather than reactive. That’s what happened last year,” Twaites said. Despite plenty of forecasted snow, little salting or sanding happened on roads and sidewalks cleared by municipalities until the snowstorm hit over Christmas last December. The problems that cars have in snow? Twaites said it’s not that different for a wheelchair. The physics of slippery ice, slushy snow, and the dangers that come with them are similar for both vehicles.

Private businesses and citizens are responsible for preparing for and clearing snow from the walkways and parking lots in front of their properties, while municipalities are responsible for theirs. But the necessary shoveling and plowing doesn’t always happen quickly—or at all.

In fact, municipalities have trouble abiding by their own bylaws. Langley Township said it doesn’t have the resources to clear all its sidewalks. We’ve asked other Fraser Valley municipalities about their ability to keep up as well. Look out for their responses in a future newsletter.

Governments, businesses, and people watching snowstorms peter out through their living room windows may not want to spend their money (or their physical labour) on carving a path through the snow. But Twaites says: please shovel your walk.

“There’s other people that can’t necessarily shovel, that need [the sidewalks] to be shoveled. Even if it’s just literally the 20 feet in front of your house or around the corner.”

Norris agrees.

“Shoveling isn’t just for me. It’s for everyone…that’s for everyone’s accessibility, no matter whether they’re in a chair or not.”

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