Who says you can’t fight city hall? Ask Aki Ediriweera, he didn’t have to fight the man at all, instead, he just asked nicely.
It all began last fall, when the Grade 12 Burnaby North Secondary student realized there was a problem in his neighbourhood.
Ediriweera’s grandmother was on her way to a doctor’s appointment using the neighborhood’s closest bus stop on Douglas Road. As she made her way toward the bus stop she realized that there was no sidewalk between the stop and the road, exposing her to traffic danger. As the bus approached, she was wedged between the road and a ditch, causing her to almost lose balance and fall backwards.
Out of a concern for his grandmother’s well-being and the overall safety of seniors in the community, the incident prompted Ediriweera to act and push for safety enhancements at the bus stop.
At first, he brought it up at his school’s safety committee, where it was recommended he go through the city.
So, the high school student took it upon himself to write to city hall in the New Year. As he tells it, he wanted to feel like a regular citizen, so he sent a request to both Burnaby’s engineering department and the mayor’s office.
After some back and forth in early March, he heard back with some good news.
The city agreed to make some improvements on the bus stop, including adding a small asphalt lip on the edge of the roadway as well as adding some reflective pavement markers. The work will be carried out shortly when the weather improves.
“I think it’s a nice step toward community safety,” Ediriweera told the NOW, suggesting a little persistence can pay off.
“For something like this for your own grandmother or other seniors in general too, it will make an impact on them.”
But the high school student isn’t done. He’s got a few more ideas in the bag to help seniors stay safe in the community.
In the case of his grandmother, he said she’s lucky because he was there to convey her situation to the city, which ultimately led to change. But Ediriweera argued there are many seniors in Burnaby who don’t have access to a computer or simply don’t know how to send an email to report their concerns to city hall.
He’s pitching a community hotline where seniors can report their safety concerns to the city.
“For seniors, if they have the ability to just tell someone, and then from there, that general line is able to convey their message to the respected parties, that would be really, really amazing,” he said.
Ediriweera said the next step is to figure out a cost and the logistics of setting up such a line, but he believes there are plenty of people in the community who want to volunteer and would take part.
While he’s busy finishing up school, he said he intends to take a closer look at his proposal when he has more time this summer.
Coun. Sav Dhaliwal said he would consider bringing the idea up with city staff, suggesting there’s always room to improve communication between seniors and the city.
He also acknowledged that not everyone uses a computer.
“It’s difficult for even those who can find their way around sometimes to find the right people to talk to,” Dhaliwal said.
However, the city councillor also suggested the city has a good track record in responding to residents through its central line, also pointing out the elderly have access to city services through the various seniors’ centres. He also noted the city has seniors’ liaisons to make sure any issue are brought forward.
