According to results from a recent survey, not only do physical barriers exist in Altona but so do obstacles around attitudes.

Thanks to this feedback, members of the local accessibility committee, Equal Access Altona, have pegged removing those invisible barriers as a future priority in its overall plan to make the community more accessible to everyone.

As Altona's population becomes more diverse, committee chair, Amy Pankewich, says consideration also needs to be made to accommodate other cultures, and ensuring newcomers have access to the same services long-time residents have had.

"It was so nice to see that people defined accessibility in so many different ways," she added, noting a wheelchair basketball demonstration and obstacle course set up at this year's Manitoba Sunflower Festival also served as a good start to challenging peoples' perceptions of sport and athletes.

"We think as athletes perhaps as people we see on TV, or people who are able to use their legs, but people who are in wheelchairs are excellent athletes, and in fact a lot of the time they're working super hard, and it's a completely different way of playing a sport," explained Pankewich. "So getting people out there, and seeing that maybe their attitude about what professional sports look like, or what "real sports" are considered to be, is actually different."

Meantime, Pankewich says survey respondents also indicated architectural and physical barriers, like poor sidewalks, are quite high in the community.

"Sometimes we think about accessibility needs as automatically applying to individuals who have disabilities, but what it actually means is this could be our senior population, parents who are out there with strollers, kids who are riding their bikes. Accessibility means it needs to be accessible for everybody...so if a sidewalk is a barrier for a mother with three kids who is pushing a stroller and carrying one on the arm to go to the store, we need to address that."

In fact, PembinaValleyOnline reported earlier this month that work to remove those barriers had already begun with the grinding down of sidewalks to remove lips, and other uneven spots that could be a danger or hindrance. Pankewich says this will continue to be the committee's focus area through the end of the year.