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A disabled Sudbury woman says the year-long closure of elevators in her apartment building is limiting daily activities for many residents because they have no choice but to take the stairs.
For the past decade, Andrea Gustafson, who suffers from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a genetic condition that weakens the body’s connective tissue, has lived on the fifth floor of a five-story apartment at 285 Lourdes Street, near downtown Sudbury.
The building’s only elevator was taken out of service for repairs in November 2024. Gustafson says the outage has left many elderly and disabled tenants struggling to get in and out of the building.
“We understood that this was going to take a little bit of time, that it wasn’t going to happen overnight, but it’s been a year now and all the disabled people who live in this building, the tenants, we’re really struggling. We’re suffering. We’re going through a really difficult situation,” he said.
Gustafson said tenants have repeatedly raised the issue with building management, but communication has been inconsistent.
The security authority cites pending issues
Centerville Non-Profit Housing owns the building, managed by Luxor Property Management.
Cory Vaillancourt, Luxor property manager, said in a statement to CBC News that the delay is due to the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) not approving KONE Canada’s newly installed elevator.
“At this time, we are dependent on TSSA approval,” Vaillancourt said in the statement.
During an inspection in September, the TSSA identified several issues that needed correction before the elevator could be “safely placed into service,” according to TSSA spokesman Gary Chan.
The contractor, KONE Canada, is responsible for scheduling a new inspection, but has not done so yet, he said.
“The elevator will be out of service until we can verify that all outstanding issues have been fully resolved and the device is safe to use,” Chan said.
KONE Canada received CBC’s request for comment but did not respond before publication.
Tenants of the building also contacted Greater Sudbury Bylaw Services.
“While this is not city property, City of Greater Sudbury Bylaw Services continues to work with the owners to bring the building into compliance,” a city spokesperson said.
‘I would prefer to use the elevator but I am forced to use the stairs’
Gustafson says the blackout has forced her to give up routine tasks on days when taking the stairs is too painful.
“So to do anything, to go out in public, to do laundry or check my mail or something like that, I need to go downstairs and I would prefer to use the elevator, but now I’m forced to take the stairs,” she said.
She says the disruption is also creating financial strains.
“I’ve had to pay someone to do my laundry…that’s like $20 a load. And for people who are on assistance or disabled, that’s a big change,” she said.
“I have to have a subscription to something like Instacart. It’s the only service in town that I know of that actually brings my groceries upstairs. Otherwise, I’d have to do it myself, which I can’t do.”
As for what he hopes will happen next, Gustafson said he “would like to get our elevator back.”
