Accessibility Advisory Committee

Legislation:
The Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2001 (ODA) requires municipalities that have a population over 10,000 to establish a local Accessibility Advisory Committee. The majority of the members must be people with disabilities.

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) became law on June 13, 2005. Under this legislation, the government of Ontario is developing mandatory accessibility standards that will identify, remove and prevent barriers for people with disabilities in key areas of daily living. Under the AODA, and current and future Regulations, private and public sector organizations across Ontario will be required to implement a series of standards including Customer Service, Integrated Accessibility (Information and Communications, Employment, Transportation) and Built Environment.

Accessibility Advisory Committee:
The Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC) shall advise and assist Council and staff in promoting and facilitating accessible City goods, services and facilities. This shall be achieved through the review of municipal policies, programs and services and the identification, removal and prevention of barriers faced by people with disabilities.

The AAC will advise on the City’s municipal service responsibilities such as site plan reviews, access plans, and Access Fund requests. The AAC will also advice staff and City Council on accessibility issues related to City-owned facilities and services, the implementation of the accessibility standards and the preparation of accessibility reports. The AAC members were appointed by City Council from a list of applicants similar to other City Advisory Committees. The majority of members are people with disabilities.

Under the AAC two sub-committees were established, Built Environment and Transportation.

Built Environment Sub-Committee:
This sub-committee is responsible to oversee the utilization of the City’s annual Access Fund. The sub-committee also monitors municipal, provincial and federal legislative changes, policies and regulations that impact accessibility issues.

In addition the sub-committee is responsible for reviewing site plans and to promote compliance with the AODA legislation regarding barrier-free accessible buildings. The sub-committee present recommendations to potential developers and builders through City Planning staff.

Transportation Sub-Committee:
This sub-committee is responsible to advise Peterborough Transit and the City’s service delivery partners on transportation issues and how to further enable barrier-free access in the City of Peterborough. This includes issues regarding all types of transportation for people with disabilities; provide safe, barrier-free sidewalks, including appropriate curb cuts and safe crosswalks. They also monitor municipal parking, ensuring that parking areas are adequate and accessible and provide the implementation of technologies for the transportation system such as audible traffic signals, bus hailing kits, low entry transit buses, etc.

2011 Accessibility Plan:
The 2011 Accessibility Plan was adopted by City Council on June 6, 2011.  The document sets out accessibility initiatives completed in 2009/2010, and initiatives planned for 2011 in the City of Peterborough. For a copy of the 2011 Accessibility Plan, please visit the Documents section of this webpage, or contact the Accessibility Coordinator at Ext. 1785 

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Revised:2012-12-12| Revised by: The City of Peterborough