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Regional Overview
Accessibility Planning in York Region |
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Under the ODA, the annual accessibility plan must include:
Steps the Region has taken to identify, remove, and prevent barriers.
How the Region will assess its bylaws, policies, programs, practices, and services to determine their impact on persons with disabilities.
What bylaws, policies, services, programs, and practices the Region will review in the coming year to identify barriers.
Measures the Region will take in the coming year to identify, remove and prevent barriers in all of its services, and programs, including transit. |
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| York Region's long-term strategic plan, Vision 2026, provides the foundation for accessibility planning in York Region and many other important corporate initiatives. Meeting the specific requirements of the ODA through the development and implementation of annual accessibility plans further supports the goals set out in Vision 2026. |
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| The Process for Developing York Region's Plans |
The Region's accessibility planning process was set out in the Accessibility Plan Policy Framework that was approved by Regional Council in February 2003. The direction established in the Policy Framework has resulted in five Regional accessibility plans that cover every aspect of the Region's businesses and services.
Each department, including York Regional Police, develops its own departmental accessibility plan to identify, remove and prevent barriers in Regional programs and services on an annual basis. The initiatives included in these departmental plans are combined to form one document - York Region's Annual Accessibility Plan.
Understanding what the Region has done to improve and enhance accessibility is also a key part of our Region's Policy Framework. As such, evaluation is ongoing to monitor and track the accessibility planning progress. The Region continues to successfully meet the obligations outlined in the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001. |
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| Participation of the York Region Accessibility Advisory Committee (YRAAC) |
York Regional Council strongly supports the involvement of many different people and groups in the Region's accessibility planning process. The support of Regional Council members has been consistent since the beginning of ODA implementation, and networks have been formed to encourage ongoing communication with the area municipalities, stakeholder organizations, and the general public. Many Regional departments incorporate the practice of working with their own customers and clients to identify, prevent, and remove different types of barriers that impact people with disabilities from receiving services or accessing various programs and facilities.
The York Region Accessibility Advisory Committee (YRAAC) is a legislatively mandated committee which was first appointed by York Regional Council in 2003. In March 2007, Regional Council appointed a new committee to serve for the 2007 - 2010 term. It includes members of Regional Council and citizen volunteers, and has been an integral part of the accessibility planning process. The members of the YRAAC include people from across York Region with different types of disabilities and backgrounds offering a variety of perspectives and representing the region as a whole. The YRAAC plays a critical role in advising Council on the preparation, implementation, and effectiveness of its annual accessibility plans.
In keeping with its legislated mandate, in 2007 the YRAAC continued to provide direct input into the implementation activities of Toward's Accessibility: York Region's 2007 Accessibility Plan. For example, members of the YRAAC:
- Participated in the orientation session for the newly appointed YRAAC in March 2007
- Recommended that Regional Council recognize National Access Awareness Week, which was subsequently endorsed by Council in May 2007
- Provided staff with valuable feedback and suggestions concerning the reconstruction of the Administrative Centre's north parking lot
- Participated in a breakfast meeting for members of all local municipal Accessibility Advisory Committees hosted by Aurora's Accessibility Advisory Committee
- Participated and presented at the Association of Municipal Clerks and Treasurers (AMCTO) "An Integrated Approach to Accessibility Planning" workshop in November 2007
- Participated in "Just Ask" inclusivity training offered corporately at the Region
- Conducted research and reported back to the AAC regarding British Columbia's 2010 "Legacy Now" accessibility funding
- Provided advice on the implementation activities included in the 2007 Plan and on the development of the 2008 Accessibility Plan
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| Are We Making Progress? A Brief Overview of 2007 Achievements |
| Towards Accessibility: York Region's 2007 Accessibility Plan committed to act on 85 initiatives to enhance accessibility across our programs, services, and facilities. As a first step, we identified 28 new barriers and then addressed 57 already identified barriers. Of these initiatives, we are pleased to report that 66% (56 initiatives) are now complete and 34% (29 initiatives) are planned or underway. |
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| The initiatives included in Towards Accessibility: York Region's 2007 Accessibility Plan support the Region's commitment and dedication to enhancing accessibility for persons with a broad range of disabilities while supporting the key areas that impact the lives of people with disabilities in York Region. Our experience in accessibility planning has increased our awareness and understanding of all types of barriers both visible and invisible. In 2007, 145 different types of barriers to accessibility were identified and of these, 95 were invisible barriers. |
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A few examples of how departments addressed different types of barriers in 2007 include:
- Community Services and Housing addressed Architectural and Physical barriers by installing hand railings in two seniors' apartments to provide greater movement opportunities for tenants with ambulatory and balance constraints and by modernizing elevators to include accessibility features in two Housing York Inc. housing communities.
- With the support of the Finance Department (Information and Technology Services Branch), Corporate Communications addressed Technological and Communicational barriers by continuing to make improvements that make information about the Region and its services more accessible on the website.
- To address Attitudinal barriers, Health Services developed an internal newsletter to educate and increase awareness of staff on ODA initiatives and activities.
- Planning and Development Services addressed Informational, Architectural and Physical barriers by conducting accessibility audits of proposed public consultation centres to ensure that people with disabilities were able to participate in public consultations.
- Corporate Services addressed Physical and Architectural barriers by incorporating the YRAAC's feedback into the reconstruction of the entire north parking lot at the Administrative Centre improving the number, size, and proximity of accessible parking spaces and providing a safer crosswalk and entrance way. The Department also installed common signage throughout the Administrative Centre to make it easier for people to find their way.
- York Region Transit Mobility Plus addressed Policy and Practice barriers by introducing 24-hour advance notice day trip bookings for their Mobility Plus Service in response to customer satisfaction surveys. York Region Transit/Viva addressed Physical and Technical barriers by purchasing more low-floor, wheelchair accessible buses and by installing other accessibility features at stops and shelters to improve access. To make crossings at intersections safer and easier for persons who are blind or have low vision, transportation services installed Audible Pedestrian signals at identified crossings.
- York Regional Police addressed Policy and Practice barriers by beginning work to develop a Canadian Hearing Society sign language protocol, enabling timely access to Sign Language Interpreter Services for persons who are deaf, deafened, or hard of hearing.
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Developing Opening Doors:
York Region's 2008 Accessibility Plan |
The Region's fifth Accessibility Plan continues to follow the direction set out in the Accessibility Plan Policy Framework and is integrated with the Region's annual business planning and budget process.
Again this year, each Regional department and the York Regional Police participated by developing a departmental accessibility plan. Each department's accessibility plan is included in this document.
The 2008 Accessibility Plan includes 91 accessibility planning initiatives put forward by departments to identify, remove, and prevent barriers in 2008. As in all the Region's accessibility plans, each initiative included in Opening Doors has been organized around five themes. |
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The themes are:
Helping People Live Independently
Making it Easier to Move Around the Region
Making Regional Services More Accessible
Making it Easier to Participate in Regional Government
Changing Attitudes and Raising Awareness
The themes bring together the diverse aspects of the Region's programs and services into broader areas of action. These themes reflect the feedback from the YRAAC and previous public consultations on the key areas that impact the lives of people with disabilities. |
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| Parrallel Implementation of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 and the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001 |
The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) came into effect in June 2005. It applies to both the public and private sectors covering every aspect of life available to the public, except private homes. The goal of the AODA is to ensure that all Ontarians with disabilities have full access to goods, services, facilities, accommodation, employment, building structures, and premises by January 1, 2025. This goal will be achieved through the development, implementation, and enforcement of provincially-set accessibility standards in the areas of customer service, the built environment, information and communications, employment, and transportation. Both public and private sector organizations will be required to implement these standards in increments that could range from as little as six months to a maximum of five years.
Enforcement of the AODA will be through a process of reporting, inspection, investigation, compliance orders, and administrative penalties.
Under the AODA, the role of municipal accessibility advisory committees will change from advising municipal councils on their annual accessibility plans to advising councils on their municipalities' compliance with the new accessibility standards.
The AODA will eventually replace the ODA. However, the Province has indicated that the ODA will remain in effect for the foreseeable future while the AODA is phased in. The Accessibility Standards for Customer Service (Ontario Regulation 429/07) is the first of five standards to be released under the AODA. The Transportation Standard is expected to be finalized into regulation in 2008. Until the other standards - built environment, employment, and information and communications are finalized into regulation, the Region, like other municipalities, must meet the challenge of implementing the ODA and the AODA simultaneously. |
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| Responding to the Needs of Our Residents |
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| The Regional Municipality of York hears and responds to its residents by meeting the needs of persons with disabilities through services offered at the Region. For instance, in 2007 the Corporate Services Department presented plans for the redesign of the Administrative Centre's north parking lot to the York Region Accessibility Advisory Committee. Committee members provided valuable feedback and made suggestions to improve accessibility. The Corporate Services Department heard these suggestions and made changes to the parking lot plans improving accessibility and eliminating barriers. |
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| Accessibility Standards for Customer Service |
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| Ontario's first accessibility standard under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 came into effect January 1, 2008. The Customer Service Standard states what businesses and other organizations in Ontario must do to make the provision of their goods and services more accessible to people with disabilities. For more information on the Customer Service Standard, visit the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario's website. |
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| Responding to the Needs of Our Residents |
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| The Regional Municipality of York hears and responds to its residents by meeting the needs of persons with disabilities through the services it offers. For instance, after receiving feedback from the Canadian Mental Health Association, York Region Chapter, the Region has added another disability type to be addressed through initiatives included in the Accessibility Plans. Mental Illness has now been added as a disability type in our 2008 Accessibility Plan, broadening the range of disability types being addressed through the identification, removal, and prevention of barriers. |
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