It’s a long way down — and an even longer way back up — for seniors in a White Rock apartment building that has been without elevator access since mid-July.
Eighty-four steps stand between residents on the top floor of the seven-storey White Rock Square 2 building and the outside world. For most people, it’s a challenging situation.
But for some seniors, especially those with health conditions, it represents a near-impossible barrier.
“It’s almost like a prison, I guess,” said resident Frank Mansell.
Mansell, a retired firefighter who suffers from a chronic lung disease, lives on the top floor. He says if he didn’t have family living in the area to help deliver food and medicine, he has no idea what he’d be doing, saying he can barely manage the stairs.
“If it weren’t for my daughter, I’d be in a lot of trouble,” he said.
“I can do the first two floors before I have to have a rest, then about one floor at a time from then on.”
The apartment building is for people 55 years old and up, although many residents are of advanced age.
Resident Gail Patterson just had heart surgery and isn’t sure if she really should be climbing stairs.
“You get out of breath,” Patterson said. “But you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. You’ve got to get to the top.”
Other people ration their trips out, while some have been effectively confined to their rooms, or have even had to leave the building entirely while the elevator saga drags on.
“I met one of the neighbours, I don’t know what floor he’s on, but his wife is in a hotel, because she’s got a bad back,” Patterson said.
“There’s no way she can climb the stairs at all, so he’s paying $200 and something a night for his wife to live in a hotel.”
Residents also say they have heard stories about their neighbours falling and injuring themselves on the way down the stairs. Notes are being added to the notices posted on the elevators, evidence of frustration with the process, as multiple attempts by Richmond Elevator to bring in parts from California haven’t yet yielded any results.
“I hope they get it done, I hope they get it fixed pretty soon,” Mansell said. “I just don’t know why they don’t bring the manufacturer rep in here who knows how to fix things.”
“They don’t see how urgent it is for some people,” he added.
Richmond Elevator did not respond to a request for comment before deadline. There’s still no estimated timeline for the elevator to be fixed.
