Don Horncastle, who is visually impaired, says navigating city sidewalks in the winter can be a challenge.. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Public awareness

Watch: Prince Albert man advocating for safer city for vision challenged residents

Feb 2, 2025 | 5:27 PM

While fumbling with the zipper on his jacket, Don Horncastle acknowledged since his eye sight deteriorated, normal tasks that once required very little thought, now take three times longer to complete.

The Prince Albert senior agreed to meet with paNOW on Friday and discuss the challenges people with vision related disabilities face on a day-to-day basis. The Canadian Council of the Blind’s (CCB) White Cane Week (WCW), falls on the first week of February every year, and Horncastle, who leads a local support group, is hoping to spread some awareness.

His condition is age related macular degeneration and he said it has a big impact on daily tasks such as running errands, or anything that requires mobility.

“Now you got to arrange for a driver and you’ve got to arrange for someone to go to the store with you, find the item on the shelf and what is the price and all that kind of thing. So you’re not helpless, but you’re continually frustrated by small things and you know things you’ve done all your life by yourself, are suddenly a challenge,” he explained.

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Another challenge is getting to doctor appointments, and with an absence in Prince Albert of the required specialists he needs, Horncastle must travel to Saskatoon.

“How do you get there? If you rely on seniors transport, it’s $250 for a trip”, he said, noting a recent experience where he had an appointment for a procedure but had to postpone it four times before he could find a driver who was available to go down to Saskatoon for a 15 minute appointment.

In terms of the city’s accessibility for the vision impaired public, Horncastle said a lot of work is required to improve services and while he noted the availability of Access Transit, he said the service also has various rules and procedures that are not always easy to navigate especially when you’re required to book two weeks in advance.

“And a lot of people don’t have two weeks notice when they have things come up in their life. So, how do you get there if you can’t access Access? Do you postpone it and wait for two weeks or whatever?,” he asked.

Another big issue for Horncastle is manoeuvering the city’s sidewalks, which can be a real challenge in the winter after a big snowfall.

For pedestrian safety and mobility, the City of Prince Albert’s Snow and Ice Control Policy asks that property owners clear their sidewalks within 48 hours of a snowfall, however, citing a building landlord on his street that has done nothing and faced no consequences, Horncastle feels the policy is not being enforced.

On Monday, he plans to attend city council’s meeting to discuss the current policy and what should be done to improve it.

The CCB estimates there are about 3,000 people in Prince Albert who are blind or with low vision challenges, and Horncastle explained the peer support group he runs in Prince Albert has roughly 50 members. He believes there are many more people out there who could use the supports they provide. The group meets once a month at Calvary United Church.

Thanks to CCB, members of the local support group can get access to free smart phones developed specifically for the visually impaired.

“The phone has been a tremendous asset, at least for me personally, to get freedom and get accessibility to the world and read paNOW articles. I press a button on my phone and it’ll read it out loud to me,” he said.

Other programs offered through the CCB provide training to people who rely on a cane, how to organize your household, or continue working at your office or at your job site.

Anyone who wants more information about the support group or the services available through the CCB, can contact Horncastle directly at 306-314-1860. He said the goal of their group is helping people thrive, not just survive.

“And then once we start surviving, we can start getting out in a boat and joining groups like the blind and low vision support groups and finding that we’re not all alone,” he said.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @nigelmaxwell