Accessibility

I firmly believe that everyone ought to be able to access, use and engage with buildings and services regardless of age, ability, income, race, or gender. It’s essential that the City ensure its own services are accessible. In my first term, Council improved levels of accessibility in big and small ways. We increased the number of accessible pedestrian signals and added to the snow clearing budget. We approved accessible trails at Kenny’s Pond and Kelly’s Brook. We secured funding for an accessible park at Mundy Pond and created an accessible parking area closer to the playground at Bowring Park. We approved several development applications with universally-designed housing units and committed to a Municipal Plan focused on building communities for all ages and abilities. Finally, in terms of process, we have ensured that all major infrastructure projects are reviewed by the Inclusion Committee before decisions are made.

However, there’s still much more to be done as many City services remain inaccessible to many residents.

• I will continue to work with the City’s Inclusion Advisory Committee on increasing accessibility across all City services.
• My top priorities are equitable trail access, Metrobus stop announcements, improvements to the Pedestrian Mall, removing sidewalk obstructions, and fixing those curb cuts.
• I will continue to evaluate the accessibility of my own communications as councillor.
• I will prioritize work to make our programming and physical spaces more accessible for persons with disabilities, for families with young children, and for seniors.
• I will continue to prioritize traffic calming, snow clearing, and multimodal transportation to ensure we can all get around the city safely and efficiently.