A man who lives in Inglewood says he can't shop in most of his neighbourhood stores because they're inaccessible for his wheelchair.

Allen Reid had a stroke and now relies on an electric wheelchair to get around.

Reid says many of the stores have narrow doorways, steps or a lip at the doorway which his chair can’t get over.

He says he has spoken to some of the shop owners about it.

"They just say, 'Yes, yes,' they understand. They kind of play lip service. But do they do anything? No. They just don't really give a damn," said Reid.

Regulations different for buildings built before 1985

Many of the buildings in Inglewood date back to the 1900s.

According to the City of Calgary, buildings constructed before 1985 fall under the old Alberta Building Code, which does not require premises to be fully wheelchair accessible.

Ward 9 Ald. Gian-Carlo Carra, says he understands his constituent's frustration but the city is not in a financial position to help pay for any changes.

"It's a financial no-go. I mean we don't have enough money to build rec centres for our kids," said Carra.

Reid estimates he can only access about five per cent of Inglewood stores, so he does most of his shopping in downtown Calgary.