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6. 2009 CITY OF OTTAWA
MUNICIPAL ACCESSIBILITY PLAN PLAN D’ACCESSIBILITÉ MUNICIPAL 2008 DE LA VILLE D’OTTAWA |
Committee RecommendationS
That Council approve, subject to the 2009 budget process:
1.
The 2009 City of Ottawa
Municipal Accessibility Plan (COMAP) for implementation, as required by the
Province’s Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA);
and
2.
One full time position to
ensure compliance with training obligations mandated by each of the four AODA
regulated accessibility standards.
RecommandationS du comité
Que le Conseil municipal approuve,
sous réserve du processus budgétaire :
1.
le
Plan d’accessibilité municipal 2009 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(LAPHO); et
2.
un poste à temps plein afin d’appuyer la
conformité aux exigences de formation prescrites par chacune des quatre normes
d’accessibilité régies par la LAPHO.
1. Deputy
City Manager of City Operations’ report dated 7 November 2008
(ACS2008-COS-DCM-0013)
Report to/Rapport au:
Corporate Services and Economic Development
Committee
Comité des services organisationnels et du
développement économique
and Council / et au Conseil
7 November 2008 / le 7
novembre 2008
Submitted
by/Soumis par: Steve Kanellakos, Deputy City Manager, City
Operations/Steve Kanellakos, directeur municipal adjoint, Opérations
municipales
Contact/Personne ressource: Gestion
des actifs et des biens immobiliers
Mary Reid, Corporate Accessibility
Specialist / Spécialiste de l’accessibilité
(613) 580-2424 ext,28433, Mary.Reid@ottawa.ca
|
city-wide / À l’Échelle
de la ville |
Ref N°: - ASC2008-COS-DCM-0013 |
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SUBJECT: |
2009 CITY OF OTTAWA MUNICIPAL ACCESSIBILITY PLAN |
|
OBJET : |
PLAN
D’ACCESSIBILITÉ MUNICIPAL 2008 DE LA VILLE D’OTTAWA |
REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS
That the Corporate
Services and Economic Development Committee recommend City Council approve,
subject to the 2009 budget process:
1.
The 2009 City of Ottawa
Municipal Accessibility Plan (COMAP) for implementation, as required by the
Province’s Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA);
and
2.
One full time position to
ensure compliance with training obligations mandated by each of the four AODA
regulated accessibility standards.
RECOMMANDATIONS DU RAPPORT
Que le Comité des services organisationnels et
du développement économique recommande au Conseil municipal d’approuver, sous
réserve du processus budgétaire :
1.
le
Plan d’accessibilité municipal 2009 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(LAPHO); et
2.
un poste à temps plein afin d’appuyer la
conformité aux exigences de formation prescrites par chacune des quatre normes
d’accessibilité régies par la LAPHO.
BACKGROUND
The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005
(AODA) is provincial legislation that requires public, private and voluntary
sectors to comply with accessibility standards. 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 of the previous year.
The City of Ottawa Municipal
Accessibility Plan 2009 (COMAP) is both a report on actions taken in 2008 and a plan for
2009, describing accessibility projects and multi-year initiatives. The
report satisfies the provincial requirements, however more importantly, it
speaks to residents, visitors and employees with disabilities about the City’s
commitment to remove barriers that limit their participation in Ottawa
life. This is Ottawa's sixth Municipal
Accessibility Plan.
COMAP is a public document directed to Council
and to the community at large.
.
Developed by the Accessibility
Portfolio Office, in consultation with the Accessibility Advisory Committee
(AAC), COMAP 2009 continues the evolution towards greater accessiblility
through practical measures and initiatives.
Initiatives are designed to follow Council and community direction while
reflecting legislative requirements and internal capacity.
Council
Direction
The inclusion of people with disabilities is a corporate-wide vision directed
by Council through the 2007-2010 City Strategic Direction, Ottawa 20/20 and
previous Municipal Accessibility Plans.
As the City continues to build a caring and inclusive community, it has
recognized that inclusion means all citizens, regardless of disability or type
of disability: visible or non-visible.
Council direction has reflected the premise that accessible, affordable
programs and services, facilities and infrastructure are integral to the
economic and social inclusion of residents with disabilities.
The City has supported the provincial direction knowing that greater accessibility brings economic benefits, increased civic engagement and value to service excellence. Without exception, increased accessibility is good for the whole community. Features designed for accessibility are quickly incorporated into day-to-day activities and business. Features such as automatic door openers, accessible web design, plain language documents and simultaneous text portrayal of meeting proceedings are adding value to City services.
Legislative Requirements
The AODA was enacted to achieve an
accessible province by the year 2025.
This legislation applies to private, public, and voluntary sectors. It mandates accessibility of goods,
services, facilities, accommodation, employment, buildings, structures, and
premises. It 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 sector-specific groups, such as transportation.
The AODA also requires municipalities to work with the community of people
with disabilities in planning and monitoring accessibility work.
The Accessible Customer Services
Standards Regulations, Ontario Regulation 429/07, became effective January 1,
2008 requiring municipalities to reach full compliance by January 1, 2010. This is the first of five accessibility
standards to be regulated and applies to all services, whether provided in person,
by phone, mail or electronically. The
standard contains specific obligations requiring new policies, procedures and
practices, training, documentation and reporting. With respect to training, the standard mandates accessibility
training for all employees who deal with the public and/or are involved in
policy development, which includes approximately 10,000 City employees.
COMAP 2009 builds on previous accessibility plans and proposes that
efforts continue in building a foundation throughout infrastructure, services
and programs to meet these remaining standards. Continued efforts to move towards full accessibility will help
avoid expensive, last minute accommodations required to meet legislative
deadlines.
The City continues to provide input to the provincial government’s development and implementation of AODA standards. As well as submitting feedback to proposed standards, the City provides a representative to the committee developing standards for information and communications.
Approach
The City’s approach is to work with the community of people with
disabilities, accessing expertise and guidance through the Accessibility
Advisory Committee (AAC), extensive community dialogues, and corporate channels
for public input. Opportunities to work
with community partners will contribute to solutions that are effective and
practical, positively influencing the quality of life for Ottawa residents.
In the spirit of full inclusion and AODA legislation, care must be taken to continually ensure a cross disability approach. This is accomplished through understanding and responding to accommodation requirements associated with different disabilities, both visible and non-visible.
To achieve the greatest efficiency and effectiveness, accessibility improvements will proceed in an integrated and simultaneous manner with coherence between departments and branches. Through the Interdepartmental Accessibility Steering Committee (ASC) and Accessibility Working Group, branches are working together with logical and efficient approaches to achieve greater accessibility to their services and programs. The ASC provides corporate strategic direction as per Council decisions, and the Accessibility Working Group oversees development, monitoring and reporting of initiatives described in COMAP ensuring they line up with the corporate direction.
The provincial date of 2025 for full accessibility is a deadline that requires immediate and on-going efforts to achieve. A proactive approach in anticipation of obligations and standards is the only financially viable option for meeting the 2025 target date. Policies are being developed that reflect globally adopted standards of accessibility and that choose the higher level of existing domestic standards. This approach enables the City to prepare appropriately and in a cost-effective manner.
The City will continue to seek opportunities to partner with other authorities such as the National Capital Commission, hospital, health and educational boards, as well as other municipalities, to share resources and ensure accessibility planning makes sense across jurisdictions.
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 diverse clientele. Businesses will benefit from access to a wider range of consumers and to a largely untapped labour market resource. A growing number of seniors are now benefiting from enhanced accessibility to transit and community services.
Although accessibility initiatives are driven by the needs of persons with disabilities, once they have been implemented, these accessibility features are of benefit to the broader community with such features as automated door openers, ramps, elevators, low floor buses, audio devices, big screen monitors, wireless communication systems, and accessible web sites.
Progress was made in 2008 to improve access to services and programs for residents and visitors with disabilities. Some of the major achievements are:
· Transportation
o 4,500 passengers per month receive Community Passes reducing their transit costs by 60%. This program is available to people with disabilities that have low incomes.
o 100
accessible taxis are now on the road as a result of continuation of the release
of accessible taxicab plates. This is
four times the number operating in 2006.
o 48
new low-floor buses were added to the public transit system. 75% of the total fleet is now accessible
with low floor buses.
·
Built
Environment
o
Over 600 physical barriers were
removed from City facilities and another 50 City buildings were audited.
o
Tactile
directory maps were introduced for the first time in City facilities assisting
people with visual impairments in interpretation and orientation.
o
Audible
Pedestrian Signals were installed at 24 intersections as of 30 September, 2008.
Thirty-four per cent of all signalized intersections are now accessible for
people with vision impairments.
·
Customer Service
o
Adaptive technology (AT) software and
accessible workstations were installed in six more Ottawa Public
Libraries. Thirteen libraries now have accessible
public Internet sites.
o
A
new recreation master plan will address access to programs/services,
subsidization, revenues, and service delivery within Parks and Recreation.
o
City-operated
arts programs provided 84 residents living with mental illness or developmental
disabilities with drop-in studio space.
o
The
Snow Go Program enabled community agencies to link 800 seniors and people with
disabilities with affordable snow removal options; the Snow Go Assistance Pilot
program provided 112 residents with disabilities with subsidization of snow
removal services.
· Information and Communications
o A server-based TTY system was installed in the Client Contact Centre so that people who are Deaf and use TTY’s have direct access to 3-1-1 agents.
o A redesign of ottawa.ca addressed accessibility issues and incorporated international standards of accessibility.
While the City is recognized for its progressiveness in some areas of
accessibility, residents indicate that accessibility levels fall well below
what is required. City staff concurs
and notes that current services also fall short of AODA standards.
As COMAP 2008 suggested, “AODA standards and community expectations will
necessitate a significant increase to these investments in the following four
years”.[1] Maintaining the status quo of accessibility
efforts is insufficient to meet regulated obligations. Investments into strategic areas, as guided
by the objective of long-term efficiency, will bring the City into compliance
in a self-sustaining manner.
Accessibility is a ‘front end’ issue requiring new investments and a
commitment to build accessibility into planning, training and operational
standards.
Accessibility Standards for Customer Services, the first set of AODA
standards, became effective January 1, 2008.
The City must be in full compliance by January 1, 2010, a deadline that
poses significant challenges. While the
City has been preparing for compliance, additional work is required to be fully
compliant. Four more AODA standards
will soon be regulated mandating new standards, timelines and reporting
requirements. It is crucial that the
City be able to respond in ways that are effective and efficient. The Province of Ontario does not provide
financial support for compliance obligations, although the Ministry of
Community and Social Services is developing tools to assist organizations to
comply with the new AODA standards.
Compliance with the AODA requires immediate investments to:
·
Review citywide,
departmental and branch policies, procedures and practices
·
Coordinate
accessibility training for all front-line and policy staff
·
Retrofit existing
facilities and infrastructures
·
Remove barriers
from transit services
·
Ensure public information
is accessible, whether delivered electronically or through public meetings,
mailings, phone or counter services
·
Accommodate
disability-related needs for residents to participate in health, fitness
educational, and cultural programs and events
Most budget requirements associated with accessibility are one-time
investments. Once completed, efforts to
maintain and to prevent new barriers will be incorporated into general
operating budgets. Training in the
delivery of accessible services and application of accessibility into policy
development is primarily a one-time expenditure; accessibility knowledge and
skills will be maintained through regular orientation and cyclical training
processes, recruitment and on-line employee resources. As accessibility becomes everyday business,
costs are reduced and absorbed into operational budgets.
There are 2 corporate and 2.4 branch positions dedicated to
accessibility. The Corporate
Accessibility Specialist works across departments to facilitate and bring
coherence to accessibility planning, leading the City's response to AODA,
identifying impacts of accessibility standards, and linking the City with the
community of people with disabilities.
A Coordinator of Accessibility Initiatives tracks and monitors the
City’s compliance with AODA obligations through the process of COMAP. An Accessibility
Transit Specialist with Transit Services and an Inventory Officer and Data
Entry Clerk with RPAM provide expertise, technical guidance and/or support to
their respective branches. In addition,
several branches provide significant project management and coordination
support to accessibility initiatives through existing resources.
As each of the four common standards have or propose training requirements, a new position has been identified and submitted through the budget process. This position will implement corporate training strategies to comply with training obligations, documentation and reporting requirements as regulated by each standard. The establishment of this position will enable a more effective and efficient response to training requirements of the AODA standards.
The first regulated standard mandates accessibility training for all employees who deal with the public and/or are involved in policy development, which is approximately 10,000 employees. In preparation for this standard, the City developed an accessibility-training module that addresses training needs as identified by staff and residents while also meeting requirements of the new regulation. A training implementation plan is being developed to enhance efficiencies in the rollout of the training module to each branch, as well as to engage staff and provide documentation and reporting processes to meet obligations of the regulated standard. The regulation mandates that staff and volunteers be trained by January 1, 2010.
Wherever possible, a corporate response to newly regulated accessibility
requirements will be developed and implemented, ensuring an efficient and
effective use of resources and avoiding duplication of effort.
Gap analysis and auditing will be utilized wherever possible, enabling a
methodical approach to compliancy. This
approach has been constructive in the past, enabling staff to identify cost
efficiencies and enabling the community to have input into the development of
practical solutions.
In 2009, branches will undertake specific actions to identify, remove and/or prevent barriers fulfilling the City’s on-going commitment to reach full accessibility. These are listed in Attachment 2 to the COMAP 2009 report. Branches will be supported in these efforts by having access to expert guidance, legislative impact analysis, on-line tools and linkages to other resources.
City Operations
will monitor legislated obligations, assess capacity, and report back to
Council.
The Corporate Accessibility Specialist and individual branches regularly
consult with the Council-appointed Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC). Guidance from the AAC furthers the City’s
broader understanding of barriers and effective solutions and addresses
specific issues and initiatives. The
expertise and experience of AAC members contributed greatly to the underlying
directions of COMAP 2009.
Constructive input was gathered from extensive discussions with
community leaders, the 2007 Community Forum for Persons with Disabilities, City
staff and through a review of best practices from other jurisdictions.
Regular contact was maintained with the Accessibility Directorate of
Ontario (ADO) to ensure that the City is informed of developments with AODA
accessibility standards.
The Accessibility
for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) has cost impacts that the
City is addressing on an annual basis.
Departments have identified initiatives for 2009-2011 to further
accessibility work and prepare the City for compliance with legislated requirements.
It is anticipated
that financial resources will be required in the next six years as
accessibility standards become provincially regulated and enforced.
The financial implications
associated with the 2009 projects are noted with each initiative in Attachment
2 - 2009 City of Ottawa Municipal Accessibility Plan. Additional funding requirements for
initiatives that cannot be accommodated from within existing resources have
been incorporated into the 2009 Draft Operating and Capital Budget documents
tabled with Council on November 4.
Total costs of these initiatives represent $1,580,000 and are as
follows:
|
Initiative |
2009 Estimated Cost |
Branch |
|
Facility Audits and Retrofits This includes washrooms retrofits, power door
operator installations, changes to or additional accessible parking stalls,
etc. These audits and retrofits are not considered life cycle renewal, which is focused on replacing aged building assets and components. |
$1,000,000 |
Real Property Asset Management (Accessibility Program) |
|
Accessible Standards for Customer Service Regulations (corporate and branch policy and documentation compliance) |
$100,000 |
City Operations, DCM Office |
|
4 AODA Standards Regulations (training compliance) |
$100,000 (1 FTE) |
City Operations, DCM Office |
|
Community consultation and public information |
$35,000 |
City Operations, DCM Office |
|
Barrier Free Sidewalks and Pathways |
$50,000 |
Traffic & Parking Operations |
|
Installation of Audio Pedestrian Signals |
$45,000 |
Traffic & Parking Operations |
|
Automated
Next Stop Announcement System |
$250,000 |
Transit Services |
|
Total |
$1,580,000 |
|
The additional funding requirements
associated with the 2010 and 2011 initiatives are within the respective branches’
2010 and 2011 budget forecasts, and will be brought forward for Council
approval in the annual operating budgets for those years.
(Issued previously to all members of Council and held on file with the
City Clerk)
City
of Ottawa Municipal Accessibility Plan 2009
Attachment 1 - 2008 Achievements
Attachment 2 - 2009 Initiatives
The Accessibility Portfolio, located within the Office of the Deputy
City Manager, City Operations, will coordinate implementation of the 2009 City
of Ottawa Municipal Accessibility Plan (COMAP). Staff in each City portfolio will ensure that accessibility work
is undertaken in their respective areas.
The Accessibility Steering Committee will annually report to Council on
the implementation of COMAP 2009.