Accessibility Planning: Latest News
ACCESIBLE DOCK INSTALLED
AT PORTMOUTH OLYMPIC HARBOUR
A new accessible dock was installed at Portsmouth Olympic Harbour
mid-August 2008. It is a wood structure with two hoists at the end. A
longer transitional section — from the roadway to the dock, can be
installed if the lake level drops, to keep the incline gentle.
ACCESSIBILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE CELEBRATES VOLUNTEER MEMBERS
Mayor Harvey Rosen (right) congratulates Municipal Accessibility
Advisory Committee Chairperson Glenn Outhwaite (left) at the
"Appreciation Gathering" on March 19, 2008.
The City of Kingston thanked former and current members of the Municipal Accessibility Advisory Committee (MAAC) for their contributions to reducing barriers in the City of Kingston since 2003. In addition to providing advice that has made City of Kingston services and infrastructure more accessible, the 48 MAAC volunteers have contributed the equivalent of approximately $30,000 worth of services to the City over the last five years.
ACCESSIBILITY MAPS AVAILABLE
We've got a collection of special maps highlighting accessibility and wheelchair-usability features of important downtown destinations and parking areas. MORE ...
ACCESSIBILITY OPTIONS ARE EVALUATED
FOR SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE
City staff, working with its consultant and the Municipal Accessibility Advisory Committee, have developed recommendations to address accessibility at the Kingston Regional Sports and Entertainment Centre and is inviting people with disabilities and those with an interest in accessibility matters to comment on those recommendations. MORE ...
PORTSMOUTH OLYMPIC HAROUR ACCESSIBILITY IMPROVEMENTS
Signage at the north entrance of Portsmouth Olympic Harbour directs wheelchair users to accessible parking spaces, automated doors, and ramps at the waterside of the
building.
Four new accessible parking spaces have been created at the waterside entrance of Portsmouth Olympic Harbour. The penalty for misuse of the spaces can be up to $300.
ARTILLERY PARK AQUATIC CENTRE ACCESSIBILITY IMPROVEMENTS
Tim
Hastie (Assistant Supervisor - Aquatic Facilities) adjusts the controls of the new sound reinforcement system at Artillery Park. The high quality, portable
equipment purchased by the City of Kingston will benefit all recreation class participants by improving the intelligibility of directions given by fitness and
swimming instructors.
A
new poolside lift has been installed at the Artillery Park Aquatic Centre. The lift has a 400lb capacity. Lifeguards have been trained on its operation, which
includes addressing the individual needs of the person using the lift.
SPEECH: TRANSIT'S EASIER ACCESS BUS SERVICE
Eleanor Hands, a member of the City's accessibility advisory committee, recently spoke to Community Living Kingston outlining the evolution of Kingston Transit's easier access bus service. MORE ...
2007 ACCESSIBILITY PLAN PRESENTATION
Read text from the presentation that Mary Margaret Dauphinee's (MAAC Vice-Chair) delivered to City Council on September 19, 2006. MORE ...
GROUP FOCUSES ON ACCESS TO BUSES
Kingston Transit and the Municipal Accessibility Advisory Committee held a public consultation on "Access to Public Transportation" on June 26, 2006. Many comments were offered about wheelchair securement, roll-out for future accessible bus routes, and bus shelters. You can download notes on the Focus Group session below.
DOWNLOAD THE NOTES AS A PDF DOCUMENT:
EasierAccessFocusGroup_Notes
[
PDF 16KB]
DOWNLOAD THE NOTES AS A WORD DOCUMENT:
EasierAccessFocusGroup_Notes [
PDF 33KB]
TRANSIT INTRODUCES EASY-ACCESS SERVICE
On April 3, Kingston Transit introduced Easier Access bus service on Route #1 as a 6 month trial. Kingston Transit also introduced bus alerting cards around this same time. In its efforts to continually improve service, Kingston Transit conducted a survey to gauge rider satisfaction with the recently introduced accessibility features. The report can be downloaded below.
DOWNLOAD THE REPORT AS A PDF DOCUMENT:
Report_TransitImprovements.pdf
[ PDF
36KB]
DOWNLOAD THE REPORT AS A WORD DOCUMENT:
Report_TransitImprovements.doc [
PDF 74KB]
UNIQUE DESIGN FOR ACCESSIBLE FENCE
The patio fence recently installed at Foorno Restaurant features a color contrasting paint job, and a cane detectable railing at its base, to make it more accessible for people with vision disabilities.
CITY ELEVATORS BECOME ACCESSIBLE
The control panel in the elevators at City Hall, 211 John Counter, and the Court House have been lowered in height to be convenient for people using wheelchairs. The Control panel features tactile and braille lettering. All three elevators also have automatic spoken word floor announcements.
TRANSIT LAUNCHES NEW ACCESS SERVICES
Kingston Transit this spring has launched two important ingredients of its accessibility. Transit Route # 1 will now have "Easier-Access" low-floor buses that can kneel at transfer points and stops to assist people using a cane, walker or baby stroller. In addition, Kingston Transit has also partnered with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (C.N.I.B.) to introduce "Bus Hailing Kits" that will assist rider's with sight impairments to more easily access public transit. READ THE PRESS RELEASE ...
ACCESSIBILITY EVENT EVALUATION
On Tuesday, November 8, 2005, the City of Kingston's Accessibility Advisory Committee presented a public education event called "Accessibility is More than a Ramp" (AIMTAR).
An evaluation of the public education event can be downloaded below.
DOWNLOAD THE EVALUATION AS A PDF DOCUMENT:
AIMTAR_evaluation.pdf [
PDF 28KB]
DOWNLOAD THE EVALUATION AS A WORD DOCUMENT:
AIMTAR_evaluation.doc [
PDF 95KB]
ACCESSIBILITY EVENT A SUCCESS
Assistant Deputy Minister Susan Scotti (Social Development Canada) receives a gift of a framed poster from Tim Eichholz (Chair, Municipal Accessibility Advisory Committee) following her speech at "Accessibility is More than a Ramp." The poster was created by Sophia Erdahl, a student at Queen Elizabeth College & Vocational Institute, and reads, "The first step to accessibility is acceptance." |
The City's first accessibility public education event, "Accessibility is More than a Ramp" (Nov. 8 at Rideaucrest) was a big success. Over 90 people attended the day-long event, some from Brockville, Ottawa, and Cobourg. Sixteen panelists and three keynote speakers discussed various accessibility issues, followed by questions from the audience. Delegate feedback about keynote speakers and panelists was very positive.
Twenty-one organizations participated as Exhibitors at the Information Fair, and in addition to the City's contribution, several civic-minded organizations donated $1,300 to support the event.
Notes from keynotes speeches, panel presentations, and audience questions can be downloaded below.
DOWNLOAD THE EVENT NOTES AS A PDF DOCUMENT:
AIMTAR_notes.pdf [
PDF 108KB]
DOWNLOAD THE EVENT NOTES AS A WORD DOCUMENT:
AIMTAR_notes.doc [
PDF 209KB]
FINE NOW $300 FOR NO-PERMIT PARKING IS DISABLED-PARKING ZONES
Motorists who stop in disabled-parking zones without the appropriate permit will soon be facing $300 fines in Kingston. An increase in the penalty - from the previous $100 fine - was approved by City Council when it adopted the city's Year 3 Accessibility Plan. READ THE PRESS RELEASE ...
YEAR 3 ACCESSIBILTY PLAN APPROVED
On September 20, 2005, the City Council of the City of Kingston unanimously voted to accept the Year 3 Accessibility Plan as submitted by the Municipal Accessibility Advisory Committee. The ratified plan will be delivered to the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship on September 30. Budgets and timelines for implementing recommendations are currently being developed by City staff to address remediation over the next several years. MORE ...
COMMENTS SOUGHT ON THE CITY'S YEAR THREE ACCESSIBILITY PLAN
A
special meeting was held on Thursday, Sept. 1,to present a draft version of the City of Kingston's Year Three Accessibility Plan. Interested citizens were
invited to attend and share their views at the meeting at Rideaucrest Home (175 Rideau Street). Participants' remarks will be included in a final draft going to
City Council on Sept 20.
At right: Chair of the Municipal Accessibility Advisory Committee - Tim Eichholz (standing at podium), addresses citizens at the Sep. 1 public consultation about the Year 3 Accessibility Plan. MORE ...
MEETINGS FOCUS ON ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES
A series of seven public meetings from March 16 to April 12 are allowing citizens to share their concerns about barriers the disabled face in accessing municipal
services and facilities. Each of the Municipal Accessibility Focus Group sessions have examined specifc public services, or the needs of those with certain
types of disabilities. Above, participants at the March 29 meeting discuss public transportation and accessible parking. Final meetings in the series are April
12 and 13.
READ THE PRESS RELEASE ...
AUTOMATIC DOORS OPEN AT CITY HALL
Eleanor Hands, a member of the City's accessibility advisory committee, cuts the ribbon to unveil new automatic doors at city hall on october 25. she was assisted by (from left): lance thurston, commissioner of the department of community services; mayor harvey rosen; and mark segsworth, commissoner of the department of operations. [photo: paul evoy]
ACCESSIBLE PLAY STRUCTURE UNVEILED
The
City of Kingston and corporate supporters have unveiled the first project completed under the municipality's Playground Revitalization Program. On September 21,
officials officially opened an Accessible Play Structure in City Park. The Radio Chum Group gave a donation of $50,000 to partner with the City in this exciting
play venture. Chum and the City agreed that an accessible play structure is required in centrally located City Park, where many community and city wide events
are held.
At left: Arielle and Jacob Kaplan, Mayor Harvey Rosen, and Justin Veenstra cut the ribbon inaugurating the new accessible play structure at City Park.
READ THE PRESS RELEASE ...NEW ACCESSIBLE SWINGS ARE A BIG HIT
The Rotary Clubs of Cataraqui-Kingston, Kingston and Kingston-Frontenac continue to give back to our community. Rotarians raised funds to install accessible swings and pathways at Rotary Park (near Lemoine Point), which will be maintained by the City. Money was also raised to modify picnic tables that now have an additional 8 inches of overhang at each end to facilitate better seating for people using wheelchairs.
CITY OFFICIALS RESPOND TO CONCERNS
ABOUT PARKING METER ACCESSIBILITY
To enhance accessibility to our new meters and to the traditional parking meters that will remain at all designated disabled parking spaces and a few additional locations, the City of Kingston is taking the following steps:
- We will continue to ensure that meters left at disabled spaces are the electronic type, which do not require the turning of a handle.
- We will lower all meters left at disabled spaces to an accessible height. As a guideline, the Ontario Building Code requires light switches, alarm pull stations, etc. to be 1.2 metres or 3 feet 11 inches high.
- We will ensure, over time, that all traditional meters left on-street are of a uniform maximum height. Some blocks do not have enough meters to justify replacement with a Pay and Display meter, so the traditional meters will remain.
- We will lower the pedestal of the Barrack Lot Pay & Display, thus reducing the height of the coin/credit card slots. This is the only location where we are not leaving a traditional parking meter at the disabled spaces. Instead, the spaces are serviced by a new Pay & Display meter situated next to them.
Contact information:
Sam Tulk, Supervisor of Parking Services
City of Kingston
(613) 546-4291, ext. 1379
E-mail: stulk@cityofkingston.ca
