Town adopts new multi-year accessibility plan with several recommendations

The Town of Fort Erie adopted its first multi-year accessibility plan in 2013, and its third version of that plan on Monday night.

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), 2005 mandates the creation, implementation, maintenance, and documentation of a multi-year accessibility plan. This plan outlines an organization’s strategy to prevent and remove barriers while meeting the legislation’s requirements, reads a news release from the municipality about the update.

“As the Town has met all AODA compliance requirements, accessibility advisory committee members felt it was important to reach out to the community to determine priorities for the next five years,” said Lori Brant, chair of the committee.

“Our goal is to make Fort Erie even more accessible,” she added.

The accessibility advisory committee “takes great pride in its accomplishments and has great success working with businesses and organizations to improve access,” said Councillor Ann-Marie Noyes, council’s representative on the committee.

“This new plan will continue the awareness and education campaign that the committee is known for: using a carrot, rather than a stick, we work on finding solutions that work,” she added.

To gather input, the committee conducted an extensive outreach program, which included public consultations at community events and an online survey.

Also, audits of town facilities, parks, and playgrounds were conducted in June and July.

Recommendations stemming from the plan are focused on compliance, facility improvements, parks and playgrounds, water access, sidewalk maintenance, parking and bicycle access, barrier prevention, and business collaboration.

An awareness campaign is also part of the plan, says the town’s news release.

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