Close call involving wheelchair user stuck in train tracks underscores winter accessibility issues

It was like a scene out of a movie.

A close call involving a man in a wheelchair stuck in the railway tracks waving for help has underscored issues with accessibility in the winter months.

It happened near Lauzon Road near Tecumseh Road last week. Shelley Renaud came to the man's rescue.

"It was very thick ice," she said.

"The snow was very compacted, and it looked very slippery too, because my little red-heeled boots were sliding on it also ... That's why it was giving me such a hard time to move him."

She pushed and pushed and tried to get the man free — but it was a struggle, she said.

She says she tried to flag down more help, but no one stopped.

Several frantic attempts later, she finally got him free - just in the nick of time.

"I heard, 'Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding,' and I thought, 'You have got to be kidding me,'" she said.

"And that's when my knees started to shake. What would have happened had I not dislodged him? That's what was really hard."

Renaud called the City of Windsor to ask maintenance to tend to the sidewalks along the tracks, she said.

The city confirmed it received a phone call about the issue, and it does clear paths at crossings. But it can't use salt or chemicals because they can corrode the tracks or cause issues with electrical signals.

That means there's sometimes a bit of snow left over.

The city asks the public to be extra careful when passing over crossings, especially on bad weather days.

Disability advocate and wheelchair user Kevin McShan offered the same advice.

"My advice to anyone that is in and around that situation is find an alternative route if you can," McShan said. 

"And if you have to use railroad tracks, when possible, bring someone with you who can assist you."

The city does the best it can with the resources it has, he added. But there's room for improvement.

"Certainly I do think the city has to bring more people with lived experience and who have a disability to the table to better address these incidents when they happen," he said.