Report to/Rapport au :

Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee

Comité des services organisationnels et du développement économique

and Council / et au Conseil

16 January 2007 / 16 janvier 2007

Submitted by / Soumis par : Greg Geddes, Chief Corporate Services Officer /

Chef des Services généraux, Corporate Services / Services généraux

Contact Person/Personne ressource : Lois Emburg, Program Manager, Human Rights and Employment Equity/ Gestionnaire Programme des droits de la personne et équité en matière d'emploi

613 580-2424, ext. 21661, Lois.Emburg@ottawa.ca

Kelly Robertson, Division Manager, Parks and Recreation/ Gestionnaire de division, Direction des parcs et des loisirs

613 580-2424, ext. 33319, Kelly.Robertson@ottawa.ca

City Wide

Ref N°: ACS2007-CRS-CSO-0001

SUBJECT:	2007 CITY OF OTTAWA MUNICIPAL ACCESSIBILITY PLAn

OBJET :	PLAN D’ACCESSIBILITÉ MUNICIPAL 2007 DE LA VILLE D’OTTAWa

REPORT RECOMMENDATION

That the Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee recommend City Council approve the 2007 City of Ottawa Municipal Accessibility Plan (COMAP) for implementation, as required by the Province’s Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA), subject to the 2007 budget process.

RECOMMANDATION DU RAPPORT

Que le Comité des services organisationnels et du développement économique recommande au Conseil municipal d’approuver sous réserve du processus budgétaire 2007, le Plan d’accessibilité municipal 2007 de la Ville d’Ottawa pour mise en œuvre, comme l’exige la Loi de 2005 sur l’accessibilité pour les personnes handicapées de l’Ontario.

BACKGROUND

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) is new provincial legislation which requires public, private and voluntary sectors to comply with accessibility standards in the areas of Customer Service, Information and Communications, Employment, the Built Environment, and sector-specific areas, such as Transportation. The legislation also requires municipalities to prepare, and make public, annual accessibility plans. These plans must document how barriers will be identified and removed from all City services, and provide a status report on initiatives from the previous year.

The City of Ottawa Municipal Accessibility Plan 2007 (COMAP) describes the status of work undertaken during 2006 to identify, remove, and prevent barriers that limit the participation of residents and visitors who have disabilities. COMAP also describes 2007 projects and multi-year initiatives that will be undertaken to bring the City of Ottawa closer to its goals of being inclusive and fully accessible. This is Ottawa's fourth Municipal Accessibility Plan.

Accessibility achievements and progress during the last few years places the City of Ottawa in a strong position as it prepares to meet AODA requirements and public expectations.

COMAP is about 'made in Ottawa' solutions; it is about being accountable to and working with Ottawa citizens to implement Council’s directive to enhance accessibility and inclusion throughout the City. COMAP is a public document directed to Council and to the community at large.

DISCUSSION

Council Direction

The City of Ottawa has taken great strides in promoting a barrier-free city for residents, employees, and visitors. In accordance with Council direction to enhance accessibility of City services and infrastructure, Ottawa’s 20/20 vision, and the City Corporate Plan, the City has moved progressively towards becoming a fully inclusive community. This is an on-going process that is having positive outcomes for Ottawa residents and visitors.

Barriers that limit the ability of residents who have disabilities to participate in economic, recreational and cultural opportunities are being steadily removed. By identifying and removing these barriers within City services and infrastructure, residents and visitors can become increasingly involved in ‘life in Ottawa’. A recent study by the Social Planning Council of Ottawa stated: “Focus group participants (residents with different types of disabilities) had many positive things to say about community life in Ottawa”. The study noted improved accessibility to buildings and services, public transportation systems, curb cuts, and social and recreational activities.

Accessible, affordable programs and services, facilities and infrastructure are integral to the economic and social inclusion of residents with disabilities. The City recognizes that inclusion extends to all citizens, regardless of the type of disability, visible or non-visible.

In October 2006, Council approved a motion calling for the application of an “Accessibility Lens” to Council reports, motions, policies, procedures and decisions. As outlined in the report to Council, action will be taken on this directive by the Interdepartmental Accessibility Steering Committee and in consultation with the Accessibility Advisory Committee.

Legislative Requirements

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) was enacted to achieve an accessible province by the year 2025. This legislation mandates accessibility of goods, services, facilities, accommodation, employment, buildings, structures, and premises. It applies to private, public, and voluntary sectors.

The AODA sets forward a process of developing and regulating provincial accessibility standards in the areas of Customer Service, Information and Communications, the Built Environment, and Employment, as well as in sector-specific groups, such as Transportation. The AODA compels municipalities to work with the community of persons with disabilities in planning and monitoring accessibility work. As AODA standards are codified, there will be an expanded requirement for tracking, monitoring and compliance ensurance. Public expectations for clear and transparent reporting on progress will also become more pronounced as the community becomes more engaged with City efforts to increase the level of accessibility.

Customer Service standards are expected to be codified in mid-2007. These standards will require that all services, whether provided in person, by phone, mail or electronically, become fully accessible to residents with disabilities within three years. The standards will require municipalities to train employees in how to meet AODA standards, provide alternative services as a temporary measure until equitable services are available, and establish and document customer feedback processes. Regulated standards in Information and Communications, and in Transportation, are expected within the following year, with standards in the Built Environment and Employment following shortly thereafter. While the City is recognized provincially for its progress in many areas of accessibility, residents indicate that accessibility levels fall well below what is required. City staff concurs and note that current services will almost certainly short of AODA standards.

Approach

The City is working with the community, accessing expertise and guidance through the Accessibility Advisory Committee, extensive community dialogues, and corporate channels for public input. The opportunity to work with community partners is leading to the development of effective and practical solutions that can positively influence quality of life for Ottawa residents. These solutions are making a difference in people's lives.

To achieve efficiency and effectiveness, accessibility improvements are proceeding in an integrated and simultaneous manner. For example, efforts to move towards a fully accessible bus fleet are being pursued in conjunction with the introduction of improved electronic access to bus schedules and increased accessibility at destinations. Continuing efforts must be made to integrate accessibility initiatives in a similar manner. Through the Interdepartmental Accessibility Steering Committee, and work of the Corporate Accessibility Specialist, branches are working together with logical and efficient approaches to achieve greater accessibility to their services and programs.

The aforementioned Social Planning Council study, which reported municipal progress in accessibility, also identified areas where participants felt improvements were needed. Persons who have disabilities, as well as their family members and other interested sectors have indicated for some time that City services and programs are not accessible to all. Barriers within City buildings, facilities, transit, information, employment and community programming prevent the involvement of a large proportion of the City's residents in economic, recreational, cultural and employment opportunities. Community agencies have identified that City policies and procedures do not accommodate persons who have mental illness, which excludes many potential volunteers and employees. Accessibility to City documents on City web sites has been described as inconsistent, despite efforts to maintain a level of accessibility in design and development. Communication with City officials and Councillors is severely limited for citizens who are deaf.

Hearing these concerns, staff evaluated the City’s Information Services in 2006 and with input from the community, identified specific areas that fall below ‘the bar’. A number of initiatives were developed to address these issues, including:

the application of new technology linking TTY (communication system for people who are deaf and hard of hearing) calls directly to server-based, electronic systems,
the review of web-based documents and information services to determine accessibility requirements, and
targeted, skill-training initiatives.

Community agencies and residents have also called for greater sensitivity towards disability-related issues by City staff. In 2006, residents with disabilities and City staff identified the need for specific disability-related knowledge and skills training for staff. The City is prepared to move forward with practical, appropriate and cost efficient training for City staff to address these needs.

Continued efforts to enhance accessibility within City buildings, public transit, programs and infrastructure, are addressing the Corporate direction and community expectation for inclusion, and building a solid foundation for compliance with AODA standards. Without such a base, future compliance becomes increasingly difficult and expensive.

COMAP 2007 proposes:

· maintaining an even pace in the removal of barriers in City facilities (RPAM),

· maintaining multi-year program to replace the buses in the fleet with low floor buses, (TS)

· implementing provincial accessibility standards (AODA), through

- staff training in disability awareness and accessibility,

- enhancing TTY access to 3-1-1

- assessing accessibility of ottawa.ca

- working with the community of persons with disabilities (CSPI).

· assisting seniors and persons with disabilities with snow removal (SOB), and

· continuing the community pass program which provides low fare bus passes (TS).

Other COMAP initiatives can be implemented within existing resources. It is fully anticipated that achieving AODA standards and meeting community expectations will necessitate a significant investment of resources in the following four years.

Benefits

The progressive leadership of Council is enabling the City of Ottawa to become known as a municipal leader in accessibility. Tourism and conference planning industries will experience positive results as the City becomes better equipped to provide services to an aging and more diverse clientele. The growing number of seniors already benefit from enhanced accessibility to transit and community services. Businesses will benefit from greater access to a wider range of consumers and to a largely untapped labour market resource.

Although accessibility initiatives are often viewed as driven by the needs of persons with disabilities, once they have been implemented these accessibility features are of benefit to the broader community. Features such as automated door openers, ramps, elevators, low floor buses, audio devices, big screen monitors, wireless communication systems, and accessible web sites are beneficial to many people other than individuals with disabilities.

2006 Highlights (As of September 30, 2006)

The City made significant progress in 2006 to improve access to services and programs to residents and visitors with disabilities. Some of the major achievements are as follows:

· A Community Pass pilot program was introduced offering low fare bus passes to persons with disabilities who have low incomes.

· A harmonized Taxi By-Law came into effect January 1, 2006. This by-law will result in 160 new accessible taxicab plates issued between 2006 and 2009.

· Accessibility and Inclusion Day, which was first proclaimed by the City of Ottawa in 2004, was celebrated at City Hall in partnership with CTV Ottawa and Voiceprint Canada. CTV Ottawa continues to be an active partner with the City in delivering accessibility messages to the community.

· Close to 1,100 physical barriers were removed from 50 City facilities and 10 additional City buildings were audited.

· Adaptive technology (AT) software and accessible workstations are being installed in four Ottawa Public Libraries to enhance access to public Internet sites.

· 42 audible pedestrian signals (APS) were installed; 25% of intersections with traffic lights now have APS units.

· 100 new, low-floor busses were added to the public transit system making the total fleet of busses 65% accessible with low floor access.

· A Corporate Training Needs Identification study identified specific knowledge gaps and priority areas for accessibility training.

· The delivery of information services to persons who have communication barriers was evaluated and barriers identified.

· The 2006 City of Ottawa Accessibility by Design Award was presented to Barry J. Hobin & Associates Architects for their innovative application of universal design facilitating accessibility within the Glebe Community Centre.

· A standards comparative analysis was completed of the Ontario Building Code and Canadian Standards Association’s Accessible Design for the Built Environment - creating a reference tool on accessibility standards and obligations.

· The City of Ottawa continued and/or expanded its aquatic, fitness, recreation and arts programs that have been adapted to provide specific disability-related supports in order to be inclusive.

· 180 children with different types of disabilities were supported through the ‘shared care’ program enabling them to participate in summer camps.

· An advertising recruitment campaign was launched to promote City of Ottawa employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.

CHALLENGES

Compliance with the AODA will require additional resources in departmental budgets specifically earmarked for accessibility, as financial resources to assist with provincial legislative requirements are not offered by the Province of Ontario. Accessibility projects include:

· retrofitting existing City facilities and City infrastructure to improve physical access,

· ensuring that new designs meet current and emerging needs;

· improving access to transit services;

· accommodating disability-related needs at public events and meetings,

· ensuring information services are accessible;

· providing disability related supports for health, wellness and fitness programs.

Such projects ensure that more people have the opportunity to take advantage of everything the City of Ottawa has to offer.

Most budget requirements associated with accessibility are one-time investments. For example, the facility accessibility budget in the Real Property Asset Management branch enables identification and removal of barriers by retrofitting existing buildings. Once each project is completed, continued maintenance is incorporated into the City’s operating budget.

Council’s direction has been to move progressively and incrementally towards full accessibility. This is resulting in a strong foundation for compliance with AODA standards and meeting public expectations. The approach has ensured wise expenditures protecting the City against exorbitant costs that can accompany last minute efforts to meet legislative requirements.

Resourcing to Meet Legislative Requirements

In 2005, City Council approved the hiring of a Corporate Accessibility Specialist to facilitate accessibility planning, lead the City's response to AODA, ensure staff have adequate knowledge for delivery of accessible services, and provide an essential link between the City and community of persons with disabilities. An Accessibility Specialist with Transit Services and an Inventory Officer with RPAM provide departmental and technical accessibility guidance.

As AODA standards become regulated and enforceable, processes will be required to ensure a practical approach to monitoring and ensuring full compliance. Standards will cover all City services, programs, infrastructures and employment opportunities, as well as policies, procedures and practices. Furthermore, standards will affect the work of most City employees. In order to fulfill, track and monitor compliance with AODA, significant resources will be required in the next four years. Corporate Services will study the requirements, assess City resources and current capacity, and report back to Council through annual accessibility plans.

2007 Initiatives

Some of the initiatives planned for 2007 are to:

· Purchase another 100 low floor, accessible busses as replacements and to accommodate growth. All of Ottawa public transit busses will be low-floor; 100 per cent accessible by 2014

· Expand the inventory of accessible fitness equipment and purchase additional adaptive sport and play equipment to promote physical activity for children with disabilities

· Integrate accessible design components into new park facilities and structures

· Introduce accessibility/disability awareness training modules for City staff

· Build community partnerships through a public forum on accessibility, co-hosted by the Accessibility Steering and Advisory Committees and gather additional input and expertise from the community of persons with disabilities through accessible, multi-media channels for citizen feedback.

· Address communication barriers as identified by the Evaluation of Information Services - 2006 project, specifically as related to access to information through the City’s web site, TTY services, and public consultations.

· Finalize and implement the new City of Ottawa Accessibility Design Guidelines and Accessibility Policy within Real Property and Asset Management (RPAM) Branch

· Audit 50 existing City facilities and remove approximately 1,300 barriers through the Accessibility Program, as well as general retrofitting and renewal programs

· Increase the representation of people who have disabilities within the City of Ottawa workforce through active recruitment strategies

· Introduce ‘Snow-Go’ program to assist with snow removal for seniors and persons with disabilities

· Install another 25 audible pedestrian signals at new or renovated traffic intersections

· Test real time captioning services and equipment to improve access to public meetings for people with hearing loss

· Develop and deliver diversity training to all employees with a focus on the duty to accommodate and understanding human rights legislation and applicability in a diverse workforce

CONSULTATION

The Corporate Interdepartmental Accessibility Steering Committee (ASC) and individual City branches consulted with the Council appointed Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC) throughout the year. While such consultations address specific issues and initiatives, they also act to further the City’s understanding of barriers and solutions.

The expertise and experience of AAC members contributed greatly to the development of COMAP 2007. In addition, input was gathered from extensive discussions with the community in various formats (roundtable discussions, individual interviews with community leaders, individual submissions, issue specific focus groups, surveys), from City staff and through a review of best practices from other jurisdictions.

The City maintained regular contact with the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario to ensure it is informed of developments within AODA and the Standards Development Councils. The City has committed to working closely with other sectors and the Province by sharing expertise and collaboratively developing standards to move forward to a fully accessible province.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The majority of proposed initiatives can be accommodated from within existing departmental budgets, and through grants/agreements with other governments/agencies.

The funds required for the bus replacement initiative have been pre-approved by Council (Bus Acquisition Strategy, ACS2006-PWS-TRN-0009 August 23, 2006) and are available within Transit Services’ capital program.

Additional funding requirements for initiatives not funded through existing City resources and/or other governments/agencies are as follows:

· Facility Audits and Retrofits – Estimated costs in 2007 are $1M. RPAM will bring forward a request in the 2007 Draft Capital Budget, Accessibility project.

· Police Building Retrofits – Estimated costs in 2007 are $190,000. Pending approval by the Ottawa Police Executive Services and the Ottawa Police Services Board, Ottawa Police Services will bring forward a request in the 2007 Draft Capital Budget.

· Alert Notification System Project – Estimated costs in 2007 are $150,000. The Office of Emergency Management will bring forward a request in the 2007 Draft Capital Budget, Emergency Management Program.

· Snow-Go Program – Estimated costs are $120,000 per year. The Surface Operations Branch will bring forward a budget pressure in the 2007 Draft Operating Budget.

· Provincial Accessibility Standards – Estimated costs are $100,000 per year for the next four years (2007 – 2010). The Client Services and Public Information Branch will bring forward a budget pressure in the 2007 Draft Operating Budget.

· Community Pass – Estimated annual operating costs are $1.1M; $500K is available within Transit Services existing budget. Transit Services will bring forward a budget pressure of $600K in the 2007 Draft Operating Budget.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

Document 1 - City of Ottawa Municipal Accessibility Plan 2007

2006 Achievements and 2007 Initiatives (Attachments 1 and 2, respectively, to COMAP report)

DISPOSITION

Corporate Services staff will undertake the coordination of the implementation of the 2007 City of Ottawa Municipal Accessibility Plan (COMAP). Staff in each City portfolio will ensure that accessibility works are undertaken in their respective areas. The Accessibility Steering Committee will report back annually on the progress made on implementing the 2007 COMAP.

2007 CITY OF OTTAWA MUNICIPAL ACCESSIBILITY PLAN

PLAN D’ACCESSIBILITÉ MUNICIPAL 2007 DE LA VILLE D’OTTAWA

ACS2007-CRS-CSO-0001 city-wide / À l’Échelle de la ville

Ms. Mary Reid, Corporate Accessibility Specialist, introduced Ms. Lois Emburg, Program Manager, Human Rights and Employment Equity, and Ms. Kelly Robertson, Division Manager, Parks and Recreation. Ms. Reid spoke to a PowerPoint slide presentation in which she provided an overview of the City of Ottawa Municipal Accessibility Plan (COMAP) report. A copy of her presentation is held on file.

Responding to questions from Councillor El-Chantiry with respect to the costs associated with making all facilities accessible and the availability of funding to assist in that regard, Mr. Kirkpatrick confirmed that in the early stages following the introduction of the Ontarians with Disabilities Act (ODA), there had been discussions about funding to assist with required modifications. However, he explained that the ODA applied to all sectors, both public and private, and he indicated the Province expected all sectors to take full responsibility for accessibility improvements. Ms. Reid confirmed this, adding that in order to assist with compliance, the Province had provided some time, as well as opportunities, for training and for sharing best practices. However, she acknowledged that some significant challenges ramained.

Responding to a further question from Councillor El-Chantiry, Ms. Robertson indicated that after the compliance deadline, there could potentially be penalties for non-compliance. She also advised that, because of the aging population and the increased awareness of accessibility issues, businesses and property owners were beginning to recognize the advantages of greater accessibility within their infrastructure.

Councillor Bloess referenced the proposed improvements to Para Transpo and inquired as to the timing in the context of the upcoming budget discussions. Ms. K. Riley, Accessible Transit Specialist, indicated the Transportation Standards Committee was just finalizing its draft report, and she did not think it would be ready in time for the 2007 budget discussions.

Councillor Bloess discussed a major renovation at a community hall in his ward that had occurred approximately two years earlier, noting that accessibility had not been taken into account at that time. He wondered how to safeguard against such oversights. Ms. Reid acknowledged this was a problem because it was more expensive to retrofit than to build accessibility into the project. She indicated that this was changing, as a result of an October 2006 direction from Council with respect to the development and use of an “accessibility lens”. She explained the result would be to consider the impact on people with disabilities every time the City builds facilities, creates policies or reviews procedures.

Responding to a further question from Councillor Bloess on the same topic, Mr. S. Finnamore, Director, Real Property Asset Management, indicated staff’s approach, since late 2005 or early 2006, has been to ensure that new facilities are designed to the Ontario Building Code and the CSA standard, which is what Council adopted in a previous COMAP report as the City’s standard for accessibility, and that the same standard is applied to all major renovations. He advised that funding for accessibility was now being included in capital projects for each new facility and/or each major facility renovation. He explained that the $1 million referenced in the COMAP report was intended to review existing facilities and to undertake minor works to make them accessible. This could be as minor as renovating washrooms and putting lever handles on doors, or as major as adding an elevator. He further explained that such work would only be undertaken in buildings not slated for major renovation or reaching the end of their lifecycle.

Councillor Bloess raised an issue with respect to sidewalks and standards for curb cuts. Ms. Reid indicated that curb cuts were the new standard and that, if situations arose where a curb cut was not included, the mistake would be corrected. She noted that this still happened on occasion because of contracting or because people were not yet accustomed to the new standards.

Councillor Brooks referenced Mr. Finnamore’s explanation with respect to the $1 million outlined in the report and wondered if this expenditure would suffice to make all existing buildings accessible. Mr. Finnamore indicated the Councillor’s statement was generally accurate; all buildings would be accessible based on the standards adopted by the City. However, he noted that the Province had come forward with the standards for accessibility, and advised that staff would try to get representation on the provincial committee setting these standards.

Councillor Brooks discussed the issue of downloading and of the City taking on provincial responsibilities without the corresponding resources. He wondered whether the other costs outlined in the COMAP report would form part of the upcoming budget. Mr. G. Geddes, Chief Corporate Services Officer, indicated that some of the costs would show up as budget pressures for 2007, some would be captured in capital programs and some already formed part of the base budget.

Responding to a further question from Councillor Brooks with respect to the Long Range Financial Plan (LRFP), Mr. Geddes confirmed that the Strategic Initiatives portion of the LRFP included some projects related to COMAP.

Councillor Wilkinson concluded the discussions on this report by stating her view that COMAP was unrelated to provincial downloading. She felt the City had a responsibility to its citizens with respect to accessibility.

CARRIED