Seniors at Grace Lutheran Place satisfied with sidewalk repairs

Michael Mack used to worry about damaging his motorized scooter when he drove it across Grace Lutheran Place’s broken sidewalks.

Now, he said those worries have been squashed thanks to recent fixes to the pavement.

“They patched the sidewalk and made it a lot better to put the wheels on it and walk on it,” said Mack.

Mack said he had been trying for three years to get the City of Regina to repair the broken and gravelly sidewalks. Last week, he said he watched as crews put up barricades and began the much-needed repairs.

Michael Mack said he feels accomplished knowing that fixes were made to the building sidewalks. (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)

“It was hard to get through,” he said. “Now, it’s good.”

Tenants at Grace Lutheran Place said the sidewalk was so bad they had nicknamed it the “suicide path.”

Mack said the broken concrete had popped his scooter’s tires, and he’d also bent his fenders on crumbling chunks of cement. He said he grew even more concerned when other tenants living at the seniors’ housing complex began to trip and fall.

The most gravelly patch of sidewalk was located right in front of the staircase, leading to the entrance of Grace Lutheran Place. (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)

Deb Schlosser was one of the tenants who fell at the bottom of the building’s ramp.

“It’s been in pieces since I moved here,” she said.

Her tumble last October sent her to the hospital and left her with two black eyes and months of healing.

She said she is happy to see sidewalks made safer for people in the building.

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“They aren’t as smooth as a baby’s bottom or anything, but you don’t trip on them,” Schlosser said.

In statements to 980 CJME in June, the City of Regina and the Saskatchewan Housing Authority said they would work to address the tenants’ concerns.

The City of Regina has made temporary fixes to the pavement, but said the sidewalks outside of the housing complex are tentatively scheduled for a complete revitalization in 2026.

The housing corporation said it would work with the Regina Housing Authority to look into an application for a rubberized paving product on the ramp to make it less slippery.

Mack said tenants at the building received a notice saying the application of the rubberized paving product would be applied soon.

He said the fixes to the pavement is a “good job done,” and hopes the work will prevent anyone from tripping and falling in the future.