3. Making Regional Services More Accessible

Accessibility Achievements

Information and Communications

During 2006, all departments in the Region made changes that will make it easier for people with disabilities to use Regional services. For example, Community Services and Housing's new Voice Information System will be piloted in 2007, making it easier for people who are blind or have low vision to obtain information about housing and community services. Based on feedback from client focus groups conducted in 2005, the Department has also made changes to the business processes for Ontario Works appeal letters and the way job postings are mounted in Ontario Works offices.

To make it easier for people with disabilities to use transit services, York Region Transit installed an Interactive Voice Response system as well as a live voice system that Mobility Plus riders can use to confirm their trip times, cancel trips or obtain information. In 2006, York Region Transit reviewed all its communication materials and is in the process of changing font size, layout and colour to make them more legible for people who have low vision. The department is also working with Community Services and Housing to develop training materials for Family and Children's Service staff, so they can give clients information about how to use Mobility Plus services.

The Planning and Development Services Department continued to audit tourism attractions in the region for accessibility. This information is now part of York Region's Visitor's Guide. The Department also redesigned the maps of York Region available on the Internet, making the fonts larger and more legible, using contrasting colours, and adding other technical features that make the maps easier for people with disabilities to download and use.

As part of Region-wide efforts to make our information more accessible, all departments have agreed to use a range of formats to communicate with the public. Based on advice from the York Region Accessibility Advisory Committee, Corporate Communications Services has developed updated guidelines and standards for web productions, and selected an accessible font for use on all business cards and stationary. The Department also redesigned the Region's Intranet, making it easier for employees to use voice reading software. The new simpler format, with more white space, makes it faster for all employees to find information on the site.

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Programs and Services

To make its services more accessible, the Health Services Department:

• confirmed that people with developmental disabilities have access to seasonal flu shots;
• ensured that all sites in the Region designated for mass immunization clinics (in the event of an influenza pandemic) are accessible;
• reviewed and revised all Active Community Living brochures and other materials to make them more readable;
• used advice from the York Region Accessibility Advisory Committee to revise its policies and procedures for testing private drinking water systems; and
• is investigating the feasibility of integrating TTY with the Interactive Voice Response system already in place to make information about well water testing accessible to more people.

York Regional Police have made it easier for people with disabilities to access their services by:

• installing software that allows all 911 Police Communicators to answer TTY calls;
• working with the York Region Accessibility Advisory Committee to complete an accessibility audit of the Community Safety Village; and
• paving the parking lot at Community Safety Village and creating two accessible parking spots at the edge of the lot closest to the Safety Village.

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Buildings and Equipment

To make the Administrative Centre more accessible, the Corporate Services Department:

• installed automatic flush toilets, touch-less faucets, automatic door openers and new sliding hardware and handles on accessible stalls in all washrooms, painted doorframes in contrasting colours, installed glass panels with fronted lines at the south entrance and completed a study of the building's signs;
• removed water fountains so they wouldn't obstruct narrow corridors, and installed more accessible fountains in more appropriate locations; and
• is redesigning the north entrance, crosswalk and accessible parking spaces.

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Continuing to Identify Barriers

Despite the progress York Region has made in removing barriers to their programs, services and facilities over the past three years, enhancements to accessibility can still be achieved.

Programs and Services

For example, Community Services and Housing is concerned that its programs and services may not be sufficiently accessible to people who are deaf, deafened or hard of hearing, and that even clients currently using services may experience barriers. In 2007, the Department plans to:

• consult with the Canadian Hearing Society to identify barriers and develop strategies to meet needs, such as creating a referral system for designated housing units and training onsite housing staff to provide appropriate services for tenants who are hard of hearing;
• investigate why there is minimal use of TTY services in the Contact Centre;
• develop standard questions that could be used to survey clients about barriers to their programs and survey residents of Housing York properties and support service providers about barriers to housing services; and
• work with other departments to ensure the Corporate accessibility planning policy is updated to include new requirements in the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005.

York Regional Police are also concerned about possible barriers for people who are deaf, deafened or hard of hearing. York Regional Police will review the communication devices they currently use to determine their effectiveness, and research the feasibility of an email version of 911. To help all departments provide better service for people who are deaf, deafened or hard of hearing, the Finance Department, in consultation with the Canadian Hearing Society, will assess the feasibility of replacing TTY systems with new TextNet technology.

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Transportation and Transit

According to York Region Transit, people who are blind or have low vision may have difficulty using the automated fare collection machines, the transit web site and some marketing materials. The automated fare collection machines may also be a problem for people who are deaf, deafened or hard of hearing. The Department has also heard from Mobility Plus riders that they would like the ride booking system to be more flexible. They would prefer to book trips 24 hours in advance - rather than the two days required now. Transit staff will identify the barriers that limit them from providing more rider-friendly services.

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Buildings and Equipment

People with disabilities still face some physical or architectural barriers in Regional office buildings. To make our sites more accessible:

• Corporate Services will study the Administrative Centre's north parking area and recommend changes to overcome any accessibility barriers;
• Transportation and Works plans to identify barriers that York Region residents with disabilities may experience at the Transportation and Works reception desk in the Administrative Centre and look for ways to improve communication.

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Information and Communication

During 2007, York Region plans a major redevelopment of its web site to identify any barriers to accessibility. While the new web site is being developed, Corporate Communications will pilot a central phone service for people with disabilities, log all calls and requests, and use that information to identify barriers or opportunities to improve services. The Department will also test the new software and identify any problems that must be fixed to make the system accessible.

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Removing Barriers

Programs and Services

In 2007, York Region will focus on changing the way it does business to make Regional services more accessible. For example, Community Services and Housing will co-locate services for children and youth with disabilities on one accessible site, providing convenient one-window access to services for families. The Department will also make physical changes to the reception area at its Bayview Parkway office, and use feedback from client focus groups to redesign Ontario Works cheque inserts. The new inserts will be easier to read and more useful for people with disabilities.

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Transportation and Transit

To provide more flexible services for residents who ride the Mobility Plus buses, York Region Transit will change its trip booking procedures: adding and reassigning staff, allowing riders to book trips on weekends, and cutting the "book ahead" time from two days to 24 hours.

Throughout 2007, a number of departments will take steps to overcome barriers experienced by people who are deaf, deafened or hard of hearing. For example, Transportation and Works will add technology that will make it easier for people who are deaf, deafened or hard of hearing to obtain service at the Department's reception desk in the Administrative Centre.

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Police Services

York Regional Police have also made improvements in its ability to serve and respond to people who are deaf, deafened or hard of hearing. The police service will:

• develop a training DVD for officers and staff that will make them more aware of hearing related barriers as well as teach effective ways to communicate and interact with people who are deaf, deafened or hard of hearing;
• develop a Canadian Hearing Society Sign Language Interpreter protocol that will provide timely access to interpreter service for people who are deaf, deafened or hard of hearing who have to communicate with the police;
• work with the Canadian Hearing Society to develop a media marketing campaign promoting relationships between police and citizens who are deaf, deafened or hard of hearing;
• invite a representative of the Canadian Hearing Society to become a member of the York Regional Police Recruitment Community Insights Program - a program that helps officers gain a better understanding of religious, cultural, ethnic and disability groups in the community and improve communications; and
• appoint a member of the Department who is deaf, deafened or hard of hearing to sit on the York Regional Police Equity Advisory Committee. This appointment will help ensure that the committee represents the full diversity of the police service, and help the committee be a leader in creating an inclusive, diverse and skilled organization.

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Buildings and Equipment

To make the Region's buildings more accessible for staff and visitors, Corporate Services plans to:

• redesign the north parking area at the Administrative Centre, creating more and larger accessible parking spaces closer to the door and improving the crosswalk and entranceway;
• redesign the Building Directory in the Great Hall of the Administrative Centre, making it easier to read and easier for visitors to find their way around the building;
• add touchless faucets, automatic flush toilets, better lighting and clearer signs to washrooms in the South Services Centre in Richmond Hill; and
• install power door operators and upgrade washrooms in York Region's leased space at the Gates of York.

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Health Services

To make health services more accessible to seniors and people with disabilities, the Health Services Department will eliminate physical and architectural barriers at the Maple Health Centre and the Newmarket Health Centre. During 2007, both centres will be renovated. Planned changes include:

• redesigning the route that people take into the building, installing power door operators in the physiotherapy washroom, providing assistive listening devices, installing a central TTY line, updating signs, and redesigning staff change rooms at the Maple Leaf Centre;
• installing power door operators in the washroom and changing signs at the Newmarket site.

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Information and Communications

Corporate Communications, with support from the Information Technology Services Branch, will develop an "accessible content management strategy" for the web site, and provide training and support to those creating web pages. Right now, some web pages - particularly those with tables, charts and photos - are not accessible to people using screen reading software. To remedy this, Corporate Communications will continue to identify tools to create accessible web pages. The Department will use a central phone number people can call to get assistance downloading web information in an accessible format. All requests will be logged, and the goal is to improve accessibility of the web site and gradually reduce the number of phone requests.

Other departments will also make their marketing and information materials more accessible. For example:

• York Region Transit will ensure its web site is fully accessible to people with low vision who use reading software (right now, only 85% of the content is accessible) and redesign its brochures and print information, using larger print size, contrasting colours and other accessible design features;
• Health Services plans to review and redesign its fact sheets to make them more readable and to meet the Region's new multiple format accessibility guidelines; and
• Planning and Development Services will continue to improve the geomatics maps on the Region's web site, making them more accessible to more people and ensuring they can be downloaded by people using text-to-speech and mouseless keyboards.