Seniors at a low-income Vancouver housing complex say they’re overjoyed after a broken elevator that had them struggling up and down the stairs for months was repaired.
Delores Williams, who lives on the sixth floor of the eight-storey Hutchinson Block building, found a sign on the elevator door Friday saying it was back up and running.
“The elevator is now working,” Williams told CTV News while carrying three bags of groceries home. “I’m so happy.”
The elevator was flooded by sprinklers during a fire on Sept. 19, and building managers said repeated attempts to have it repaired were unsuccessful.
CTV News contacted Kone, the service company responsible for fixing the lift, on Wednesday and was told it would be back in service by the end of next week.
One day later, the elevator was repaired.
It was a welcome surprise for residents like Williams, who had been forced to use the stairs to pick up her daily dose of medication.
Others in the building suffer from arthritis or asthma, she said.
“I feel sorry for the elderly people that live on the eighth floor. I know one guy, it takes him 45 minutes to get home,” she told CTV News earlier this week.
Kone president Kelly Leitch said the elevator had been damaged extensively, and that much of the repairs had been done prior to Wednesday.
