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Accessible Main Streets and Cultural Heritage
Main streets are the core of a community. It’s where businesses operate, and local economies thrive. They can also be full of special places that are part of a community’s cultural heritage.
As Ontario’s population ages, the need for accessibility considerations will increase. Ontario’s accessibility laws do not require immediate changes to existing infrastructure. However, making decisions about accessible community development now will pay off in the future.
Requirements from the various standards under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) lay the foundation of an accessible community, creating a place where everyone can enjoy the same facilities, products and services regardless of their abilities. The legislation impacts main streets in a variety of ways. The Design of Public Spaces Standards (DOPS) require municipalities to make new or redeveloped outdoor paths of travel - like sidewalks - accessible. This allows individuals using a mobility device to move freely. The Customer Service Standards coincide with this requirement, as organizations must train their staff on how to provide accessible customer service when that individual enters their business.
Currently, there are also accessibility requirements for buildings in the Ontario Building Code such as ramps, accessible washrooms and power door operators. The Building Code was amended on January 1, 2015 to enhance accessibility requirements, including signs, elevators, washrooms, and pools and spas. For more information about the Building Code, visit the Ministry for Municipal Affairs website.
For heritage properties, the goal should be providing as much access as possible while ensuring as little impact as possible on heritage elements. This will help ensure they are around for generations to come.
Consider the local library, community museum, village square, bank, or city garden. Properties like these contribute to the sense of place that makes a community unique. For these areas to be successful, they need to be welcoming and accessible to all, from parents with strollers to great grandparents, regardless of their needs and abilities.
Making main streets and heritage properties accessible attracts people with disabilities as customers, visitors and employees, as well as their family and friends, who together compose a large and growing consumer market and labor pool.
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A Case Study on Embracing New Standards in a Cultural Heritage Landscape: The Town of St. Marys
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St. Marys’ main street is an artery into the town’s business district. It’s also a Heritage Conservation District that is the site of recent construction and accessibility upgrades. The town’s approach to the project not only improved accessibility but minimized the disruption for business owners and residents.
The Town removed and replaced street infrastructure from all storefronts as well as the roadway and sidewalks. This provided an opportunity to improve the district’s accessibility. Some examples of the improvements were:
- Accessible pedestrian signals at all crossings;
- Accessible storefronts; and
- Accessible paths of travel (sidewalks).
The Town had to be creative to meet the needs of residents, businesses, and tourists during the construction. The Town made sure the public was engaged throughout the revitalization.
Involving the local Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC) in the pre-design process ensured that accessibility concerns were identified at the start of the project. Design solutions to these barriers were part of the original design, not added as an afterthought.
A steering committee helped to oversee progress. It included:
- the project’s engineer;
- municipal staff, such as heritage and culture and economic development staff, as well as local business improvement area representatives; and
- an accessibility Chair of the committee.
Project oversight was structured so that all key decisions were reviewed by this committee and their recommendations were provided to the Town Council. As part of this process, the Council approved one heritage permit for the whole project.
One of the goals was to make as many building entrances as accessible as possible. The biggest challenge to meet accessibility standards was the local topography. The project leads relied on their AAC to help determine what was essential to change at the storefronts.
The community decided to create tiers on the sidewalks of the street. There is a 1.8 metre path of travel down the middle of the new sidewalk. Where the sidewalk runs parallel to buildings, it floats up and down at steeper grades to make the building entrances accessible. The town also removed many permanent barriers from the boulevard that were flagged as impediments for all individuals.
In the picture you can see a pre and post construction example of the sidewalk renovation on Queen Street, St. Marys.
The project involved a careful balancing of perspectives to ensure the project was a success.
“The most controversial decision was that there would be no more permanent trees in the boulevard. This decision was made to improve accessibility and visibility of our historic facades. However, to achieve a middle ground, we also made the decision to rough-in services for landscape design features at both ends of the Heritage Conservation District to create green spaces in the downtown,” says Brent Kittmer, CAO and Clerk for the Town of St. Marys.
The Town took out one heritage permit and paid for the work of the entire project. This gave the Town the flexibility to make modifications to buildings as they were needed and not slow down the project.
In the end, the revitalization was a success. St. Mary’s upgraded three downtown blocks and rehabilitated their heritage bridge within their planned timelines and budget.
The project’s success can be attributed to:
- Taking a proactive approach to pre-planning;
- A flexible and understanding construction team; and
- Having a collaborative and community-minded project team.
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3 Tips on How to Improve Accessibility in Heritage Sites
Heritage properties can help tell the story of our province. It’s important that everyone, including people with disabilities, can enjoy Ontario’s cultural heritage. Integrating accessibility into these areas is possible. There are many accommodations that are less difficult and onerous than one may think.
1. Accessible Customer Service
Under the AODA, organizations are required to train both volunteers and employees on accessible customer service.
Training helps create an accessible environment in a heritage site. It teaches staff how to understand the needs of people with disabilities and how and when to help.
2. Accessible Built Environment
Heritage designations do not prohibit all physical changes. Physical accommodations allowing access to the built environment can happen; however, it’s important conserve heritage attributes while still allowing change.
Any alteration to a heritage property that may affect its heritage attributes requires consent from the local municipal council. Alterations to support accessibility are no different. Options should be explored for providing as much access as possible while having as little impact as possible on heritage attributes.
Having an accessible design solution that is distinguishable from the original fabric of the building is a way of celebrating how a heritage property can evolve to accommodate accessibility needs.
For example, the City of Markham added a ramp to its city-owned art gallery in the Unionville Heritage Conservation District. The work was done according to heritage conservation principles and accessibility standards, without detracting from the cultural heritage value of the property.
Portable ramps can be an interim solution and they can be easily installed and removed, with minimal impact.
Consultation with a municipal heritage committee, people with disabilities, or a local accessibility advocate organization helps ensure the right solution is found. Some areas to consider accessibility within the built environment are:
- Accessible external landscapes
- An accessible entry point to the site or property
- Accessible pathways so that an individual with a mobility device can move around freely
3. Accessible Information
Integrating accessibility may not only refer to remodeling or making changes to the physical environment, it can also be achieved through clear communication that considers the needs of people with disabilities.
Having information available to visitors before they come lets them know what level of accessibility to expect. For example, pre-visit information could describe the distance from the parking lot to the main entrance.
Other topics that could be addressed through pre-visit information include:
- Accessible transportation options to and from the place
- Accessible parking facilities
- Accessible entrances
- Hazards or obstacles that may limit mobility
- Circulation routes within the place
- Accessible onsite facilities or services
- Accessible way-finding signage
The City of Toronto’s Casa Loma castle provides accessible multimedia guides for visitors with hearing and vision loss. Their audio guides are a handheld device that provides information in 9 different languages, including American Sign Language. Casa Loma also provides tours tailored specifically for those with vision loss, where the tour guide provides greater detail on each building feature and room.
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Accessibility Champion of the Month: StopGap Foundation
You don’t need to wait for a large infrastructure project to make accessibility upgrades. You can remove main street barriers for people with mobility related disabilities right now.
StopGap Foundation is a Canadian charity that is helping to create a world where every person can access every space. The Foundation provides single-stepped businesses and private buildings with portable access ramps to make their spaces more accessible. Businesses can deploy the ramps to provide access for many people, including persons with mobility related disabilities, parents pushing strollers, and delivery people using carts.
With a mission to support and create barrier-free spaces for communities, this Toronto-based organization has started to expand into a worldwide movement.
“These ramps tend to multiply quickly. They are brightly coloured, so when one business starts to use it, their neighbors take notice,” said Luke Anderson, StopGap’s Founder and Executive Director. “Some communities flagged concerns that municipal by-laws prevent them from using the ramps. We’ve found that because the ramps are portable, this isn’t an issue. Most of these bylaws apply to permanent structures, and these ramps are meant to be deployed and removed as needed.”
StopGap has also developed awareness-raising programs about accessibility and inclusion that help people work towards removing barriers in their built environment and everyday lives. This movement has resulted in the creation of over 1000 StopGap ramps worldwide.
A portable ramp is an excellent option to make heritage buildings more accessible. These ramps are not attached to the building and do not need a permit to be installed. They can be stored in a safe location and brought out on a per request basis. The addition of a portable ramp allows businesses to provide access to individuals who would otherwise be unable to enter their facilities, creating a more inclusive and welcoming community.
Find out more about StopGap’s exciting and important programs and initiatives at www.stopgap.ca or by emailing info@stopgap.ca.
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BIG IDeA: Helping to Improve and Showcase the Accessibility of Ontario Businesses and Organizations
BIG IDeA is a pilot project led by OCAD University’s Inclusive Design Research Centre. It helps businesses, organizations and their customers to improve and showcase accessibility.
The BIG IDeA platform provides a space for businesses to set up a customer feedback account; learn about accessibility solutions from similar businesses; get resources and training on providing an inclusive customer experience; and be promoted in the BIG IDeA Showcase. Businesses can also earn badges for accessibility achievements to display on their premises and websites.
Anyone can submit an accessibility challenge and participate in inclusive design challenge events, where solutions are created by a diverse mix of customers, designers and business owners.
BIG IDeA maps the accessibility of locations throughout Ontario and shares accessibility data with Accessibility Cloud, the central repository for all major accessibility mapping applications. You can highlight the accessibility features of Ontario businesses by adding them using the BIG IDeA quick assessment form.
For more information visit their website www.bigidea.one
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