After watching a woman with a cane struggling to enter locked doors at a Toronto mall, one person decided to advise people to avoid the place.
Now in the second lockdown with stricter measures that started on Dec. 26, shops across Ontario have limited their sales to curbside pickup, leaving in-store only for essential items.
The Scarborough Town Centre appears to have implemented safety measures in the face of these restrictions.
All the doors, aside from the entrance at the TTC are now locked, according to a post on Reddit.
"I wanted to give everyone a friendly heads up that the Scarborough Town Centre is no longer accessible from the Parking Lots without great difficulty," the poster went on to say. "Yesterday I needed to go to TD Bank and Real Canadian Superstore coming from the TTC but was told that all doors except those coming in from the TTC were locked due to the most recent lockdown."
This means people with mobility issues who need to access curbside pickup inside the mall must walk around to the TTC entrance. The route to this entrance involves walking through the parking lot and climbing a flight of stairs to the GO terminal then another flight of stairs. The only alternative route also involves stairs.
"If you have mobility issues I strongly urge that you avoid the Scarborough Town Centre for the duration of the lockdown," the poster went on to say adding that they witnessed an elderly woman with a cane and bundle buggy trying the entrance closest to Progress Avenue only to find the door was locked.
Lisa Resnic, a spokesperson for Scarborough Town Centre (STC) said they now have two entrances open.
"Keeping Covid safety protocols top of mind for customers and employees, we have provided access to the shopping centre, with entrances 1 and 4 (TTC Access) open for entry and exit," Resnic said in an email to blogTO.
"Customer safety and service has, and always will remain a priority for us and we are always available to escort those who need assistance to the store of their choice," she added.
Security personnel are located at four entrances and throughout the shopping centre and can help customers access different points in the mall, Resnic said.
There is a centralized pickup area between Entrances 1 and 4, she added.
"Exterior signage directs customers to the easily accessed parking area at Entrance 1, for customers wishing access to collect their purchases," she said.
But other shoppers appear to have noticed an issue with locked doors.
"Yes, this just happened to me yesterday for work run," one person said on the post. "But you can go in when someone comes out. Still very inconsiderate of them and rather selfish to lock all doors of a huge mall instead of hiring Security Guards."
Others noted the centre needs to limit the entrances so they can control the number of people inside at one time.
But this measure comes at the expense of those with disabilities.
"As usual, disabled customers can fuck right off. I guess us cripples are more trouble than we're worth," another noted.
Hopefully, the lockdown won't last long and life can soon return to normal but in the meantime, people who need essential items shouldn't be left out of COVID-19 safety plans.
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