Impact

Accessible Small Businesses

17th Ave is a trendy and chic location in Calgary for shopping, dining, and socializing but being an older neighbourhood, many businesses are not accessible for those with physical, accessible needs. Many businesses have some sort of a step in order to enter their business which presents a significant challenge for those in a wheelchair or unable to step upwards, which limits their ability to support local and take advantage of this trendy neighborhood of Calgary. The Calgary Hub is leveraging its connections with SAIT - Southern Alberta Institute of Technology to engineer and manufacture portable ramps for these businesses as part of SAIT student's school projects. The Calgary Hub will also partner with local artists to paint creative designs on the ramps to maintain the creative brand of 17th Ave. These ramps will be portable so that businesses can place them outside at the beginning and end of each day without having complex and unique design needs as well as bylaws and municipal approvals to work within.