A barrier-free Ontario was the purpose of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), unanimously passed by MPPs in 2005. With the province’s 20-year deadline for the implementation of accessibility standards looming on Jan. 1, 2025, Restricted Access: Will Ontario meet its barrier-free goals? explores this quality-of-life issue for the millions of people living with disabilities — a demographic that’s expected to skyrocket as the population ages.
Pickering residents using mobility devices will have an easier time getting around council chambers now that a design has been approved.
At the Nov. 25 meeting, council endorsed in principal the schematic design concept for the renovations.
The Pickering Civic Complex opened in 1980, when accessibility was not a requirement of the Ontario Building Code (OBC). Also, use of personal computers and digital technology were in their infancy.
“The main impetus for this is the accessibility upgrades to this to make it available for everybody,” said Brian Duffield, director of operations.
The existing council chamber performs poorly against contemporary accessibility design standards, which include several updates to the OBC and the introduction of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.
The province passed legislation 30 years ago with the goal of making Ontario fully accessible by 2025.
The stairs and central depressed bowl of the chamber are the most obvious impediments, though there are numerous other challenges, according to the report.
Scooters, for example, are far more commonplace as mobility aids than they were in 1990, and have grown larger in size.
“Council chambers struggles to provide suitable clearances, even for smaller wheelchairs,” the report said.
The report explained staff visited all other lakeshore municipalities in Durham region to see their council chambers, including the regional headquarters building. In all cases, the floor of the chamber is at, or nearly at, the same level throughout, using minimal ramping.
The proposed concept would see Pickering’s existing bowl depression infilled to provide a consistent floor level throughout.
Duffield said the accessibility advisory committee has provided input on the plan and will continue to give feedback on the design.
Ward 3 regional Coun. David Pickles noted other city buildings have been updated, saying “it’s about time we get it done.”
Pickering chief administrative officer Marisa Carpino said the council chambers renovations have been in the works for many years.
“The city has an annual accessibility plan and we have had in the past accessibility audits,” she said. “We get a lot of feedback from the accessibility advisory committee and this was a key concern of theirs — the chambers that is really meant to be for the people is really not accessible to all of its members.”
While council was engaged on the plans at the time, COVID-19 changed meetings from in-person to virtual, causing a pause to the renovations.
Additional upgrades in the design concept include a separation between public seating and council and staff seating, and adding two additional seats for future council positions, which may be needed as Pickering grows.
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