Sudbury city councillor calls for improved accessibility at area beach

There may be snow on the ground, but a Sudbury city councillor is already looking forward to next summer and will be presenting a motion next week calling for improved accessibility to an area beach.

Kalmo beach on Whitson Lake in Val Caron area of Greater Sudbury in winter. December 12, 2024 (Amanda Hicks/CTV Northern Ontario)

Kalmo Beach, located on Whitson Lake in the Greater Sudbury community of Val Caron, is described as the 'Crown jewel of the Valley.'

Ward 5 Coun. Mike Parent said the beach is popular amongst residents in the area, with roughly 2,000 bathers each year.

"We have a great big, beautiful beach here …, but for some members of our community, it's a challenge to access that beach," Parent said.

"For some community, they can't access that at all."

Parent said a steep hill leading to Kalmo’s main area and a lack of accessible washrooms are the primary concerns.

A few years ago, a 10-year improvement plan was presented for the beach, including accessibility enhancements, but had to be put on pause in 2023 as the city completed its aquatics study.

Now, Parent said he felt it was the right time to champion the idea once again for the community.

• Download the CTV News app now
• Get local breaking news alerts
• Daily newsletter with the top local stories emailed to your inbox

If passed, the motion would see consultation with the city’s accessibility advisory panel.

Alicia Chenier, vice-president of the panel, said it’s not uncommon for parks and trails to not be accessible for individuals with disabilities.

Chenier has low-visio, and said she visits Kivi Park and Bell Park.

"If you go to other parks in Sudbury, a lot of the trails, especially when we use our mobility devices," she said.

"It's really hard to like navigate that terrain when, you know, there's sticks and there's rocks and then your cane gets stuck everywhere."

Kalmo Beach on Whitson Lake in the Val Caron area of Greater Sudbury. (Ward 5 Coun. Mike Parent)

When it comes to the Kalmo Beach project, Chenier said getting feedback from people with lived experience will be important.

"It’s important to get lived experience of those with disabilities to bring in feedback, to really understand," she added.

"People can make assumptions to what they think accessibility should look like."

Travis Morgan, co-chair of the accessibility panel, said he’s glad to see the motion brought back.

"The panel is happy to work with the city and the community," he said.

Morgan encourages anyone who has concerns with accessibility in the city to reach out to the panel.

"Some people don’t know we even exist," he said about the accessibility panel.

"And we won’t know what needs to be fixed if we’re not told."

Parent will be presenting the motion Monday.

He said he is hoping staff will look at potential funding options from other governments to put a business case together as part of the 2026 budget.