The City of Portage la Prairie showed off their brand-new accessibility ramp at an unveiling ceremony Monday morning at City Hall.
Portage Mayor Sharilyn Knox pulled out the big pair of scissors for the occasion.
Knox told PortageOnline after the ceremony that this ramp was a long time coming.
"We as a council really understand that accessibility is important. I look at it as if we, as the city, aren't leading that drive, then how do we ask other businesses to also be doing it? So, we're hopeful that people who may have mobility issues, walkers who need help, and people with strollers and wheelchairs will now find it easier to get into City Hall."
Knox says that the previous installment of the City Council put most of the leg work into making this happen.
"We wanted to make sure that when we did the project, we maintained the integrity of the building. And we were lucky to have the space to be able to do that. This is phase one of our accessibility project. We will be looking at phase two and making the 2nd floor (at City Hall) accessible as well."
Thomas A. Fuller designed the two-story limestone building to be the Dominion Post Office in 1898, not becoming City Hall until 1960. Knox says this new ramp will help make City Hall open to everyone, whether it's citizens coming in to pay a water bill or coming in to have a meeting.
"We want to make sure that everybody feels welcome in City Hall because City Hall belongs to everyone in this community," notes the Portage Mayor.
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