This Accessibility Status Report serves as an update on progress made towards meeting the initiatives listed in the City of Stratford’s 2023-2027 Accessibility Plan, the implementation of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) and the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (Ontario Regulation 191/11).
On this page:
- Accessibility Status Report
- Commitment to accessibility planning
- 2023-2028 Accessibility plan
- 2024 Summary of accomplishments
- 2025 Goals and next steps
Accessibility Status Report
Under the AODA, municipalities are required to develop Annual Accessibility Status Reports yearly and make those reports publicly available through the website.
Every two years, municipalities are required to submit additional AODA compliance reports directly to the Government of Ontario. The last AODA compliance report submitted to the province was in December 2023, and as such, there will be no further compliance reporting requirements to the Government of Ontario until 2025.
The City of Stratford through a website Compliance plan with the Ministry of Seniors and Accessibility undertook to ensure that its website, stratford.ca would be
The City of Stratford’s commitment to accessibility planning
Through accessibility planning and with the advice of the City’s Accessibility Advisory Committee, the City of Stratford will strategically identify, remove and prevent as many barriers as possible.
The City of Stratford is committed to:
- Continuously improving access to all municipally owned facilities, premises and services for all those with disabilities.
- Providing quality services to all members of the community with or without disabilities.
- Offering those services in a manner that takes into account needs and abilities
- Ensuring that City websites are easy to read and navigate and that it is usable by the widest range of users.
The 2023-2027 Accessibility Plan
Under the AODA, municipalities must develop multi-year accessibility plans with input from the Accessibility Advisory Committee and the public. The 2023-2027 Accessibility Plan – approved by Council in January 2023 – outlines the actions that the City of Stratford will undertake to identify, remove and prevent barriers for people with disabilities who utilize the goods, services, and facilities of the City of Stratford.
It is the second year of the plan and the City of Stratford has made progress toward its goals in 2024.
The 2023-2027 Accessibility Plan is available on the county website.
2024 Summary of Accessibility Accomplishments
| General |
- Accessibility Steering Committee terms of reference reviewed to expand roles, responsibilities and understanding. Regular site review reports are being generated in response to site plan applications
- Accessibility Advisory Committee change of membership where new community members have been added to strengthen its activity and visibility
- Celebrated National Accessibility Week with an accessibility event in partnerships with the Stratford Festival
- Posted accessibility policies and procedures on the website and provided them in an accessible format, upon request.
- Continued to develop a purchasing policy, which requires suppliers and their staff to comply with the AODA when acquiring goods, services and facilities.
- Prepared the Annual Accessibility Status Report of measures set out in the multi-year accessibility plan, posted it on the City’s website and provided it in an accessible format, upon request.
- Draft website compliance policy prepared and will be presented to Council for review/ratification in early 2025
- All new employees (full-time, part-time, seasonal) receive mandatory accessible training through e-learning modules.
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| Customer Service Standards |
- Continued to provide access to alternate facilities or services wherever possible.
- Provided alternative facilities or services where possible.
- Continued to promote the use of enhanced training provided around accessibility to all new hires through orientation.
- Continued to promote staff training materials and introduced new learning resources
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| Information and Communication Standards |
- Developed a strategy to achieve compliance and will continue to monitor, review to increase level of website compliance.
- Continuously work to ensure that documentation uploaded to the City website is in an accessible format.
- Continued PDF remediation to remove non-accessible and outdated PDFs from the current website.
- Continued to receive and follow up on feedback in regard to municipal goods, services and facilities.
- Continued to ensure processes for receiving and responding to feedback are accessible for persons with disabilities by providing/arranging for accessible formats and communications supports, upon request.
- Continue to train designated city staff to remediate and create accessible documents. Skills shared more widely through the City and beyond the corporation.
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| Employment Standards |
- Management and health and safety plans in place for Human Resources to accommodate individuals with a disability
- Continued to notify the public about the availability of accommodations for applicants with disabilities in the recruitment process.
- Continue to explicitly acknowledged the availability of accessibility accommodations throughout the recruitment process.
- Please see a list of some of the workplace accommodations that were offered and provided to support employees as they returned to work in 2024.
- Modified work hours - Including shortened workdays, shifted start, end or break times to accommodate medical appointments
- Remote work accommodations
- Modified job duties
- Modified workspace and technology
- Accommodations look different for different people and in different roles. The City follows stipulations and limitations identified by health care providers, considers the employee’s role and job duties, and looks at what will permit business continuity. The City includes mental health or psychological/emotional accommodations where possible.
- Continue to work with employees who may need individualized workplace emergency response assistance.
- Worked with employees in developing and documenting individual accommodation plans.
- Continued to inform new employees of policies and procedures to support employees with disabilities, and about the AODA generally, during on-boarding and orientation.
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| Transportation Standard |
- Continuing to communicate to all transit and parallel transit operators requirements of the Transportation Standards of IASR
- New hired parallel transit staff is required to complete hands-on training on tie-down operation, loading and unloading of customers, use of the lift, and how to position the bus for pick up and drop off.
- The transit division held its annual meeting to discuss the accessibility of the City’s transit system to the public on Wednesday 23 October in the Tim Taylor lounge.
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| Design of Public Spaces Standard |
Accessible Playgrounds, Parks, and Trails
- Milton Park playground refurbishment approved and construction to begin in 2025. Plans were reviewed by the Accessibility Advisory Committee’s site review subcommittee
- National Stadium washroom in the design and planning stage having been reviewed by the Accessibility Advisory Committee’s site review subcommittee
- A wheelchair ramp was installed for the modular stage at the Rotary Complex.
- Mobi mats were purchased by the Accessbility Advisory Committee and are now available for use at events in and around the City
- With the assistance of a grant from Dyslexia Canada the library has completed a decodable book project with over 200 titles.
- In addition to regular collection purchases, the library has been able to add to our Large Print and eAudio collections through a New Horizons grant. This allowed for the purchase of 100 additional titles to these accessible collections.
- Completion of public restrooms upgrade in 2023. The library now has 5 gender neutral stalls, 2 of which are accessible.
- The Library Board updated its Accessibility in the Library policy
- New training was completed on Creating Accessible & Neuro-inclusive library spaces
- Training continues for new staff on WHIMIS, Workplace Harassment, AODA, and Accessible Customer Service.
- Training has begun on Mental Health First Aid for in-charge staff
Stratford Public Library
- Continued monitoring and updating of the website and online content for accessibility.
- There are now 200 titles ion this popular collection which was made possible with the assistance of a grant from Dyslexia Canada
- Adding to the Large Print and eAudio collections through a New Horizons grant. 100 additional titles were added to these accessible collections
- Completion of the public restrooms upgrade. There are now 5 gender neutral stalls, 2 of which are accessible.
- The Library Board updated its Accessibility elements as a part of the library policy
- New training was completed on Creating Accessible & Neuro-inclusive library spaces
- Training continues for new staff on WHIMIS, Workplace Harassment, AODA, and Accessible Customer Service.
- Continued monitoring and updating of the website and online content for accessibility
Capital Projects
- Asphalt resurfacing: Tactile plates added along Devon Street between Pleasant Drive and Avondale Street.
- Erie Street Road Widening: Tactile plates added to all intersections within the project limits (West Gore to Ontario). At the West Gore signalized intersection, accessible pedestrian signals were added to all crossings.
- Moderwell Reconstruction: Accessible parking added on Moderwell near St. Joesphs school and tactile plates were installed at the Monteith/Moderwell intersection.
- Oakdale Multi-use Trail was constructed between O’Loane and Foreman. Tactile warning plates were added to the south side of the Matilda/Oakdale ST intersection.
- Perth Line 36 Culvert Replacement: A sidewalk was added to the structure on the south side (for future use).
- New sidewalks at:
- Foreman (east side between Huron & Hibernia)
- St. Vincent (west side between W. Gore ST & Cambria)
- O’Loane (west side between Thomas & Brown Street)
- McCarthy Road (north side between Deacon & Greenwood Drive West).
- Albert Street Reconstruction (2023-2024): Accessible parking stall added near Canada Post, tactile warning plates at Waterloo/Albert, Nile/Albert and Front/Albert. At the Waterloo/Albert signalized intersection, accessible pedestrian signals were added to all crossings.
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2025 Goals and Next Steps
| GOALS |
- Offer accessibility training to Council members for the 2022-2026 term.
- Develop website accessibility policy and obtain Councils approval
- Achieve WCAG 2.1 AA compliance
- Assess and update existing accessibility policies
- Review customer feedback and make changes to programs or services, where appropriate
- In anticipation of the new Customer Services Standard to be published and legislated later this year, review the accessibility policy for plain language and best practices alongside the City by-laws
- Continue to collaborate with the Accessibility Advisory Committee, persons with disabilities, and the public as required under the AODA.
- Develop accessibility feedback for public to weigh in on City strategies and activities
- In anticipation of the new customer service standards, that mandatory accessibility training for employees, volunteers and contractors be reviewed, updated and delivered
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| NEXT STEPS |
- Continue to develop and enhance training materials for all staff, volunteers, and new hires as AODA standards and regulations evolve.
- Continue to take a ’people-focused’ approach to work towards barrier reduction by engaging with diverse populations across the City.
- Report and work towards correcting the gaps that have been identified through regular audit.
- Digitize the process surrounding booking and registering for the accessibile transit services
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Contact Information
For more information about accessibility initiatives within the City or to obtain a copy of this presentation in an alternative format, contact the Accessibility, Diversity, and Inclusion Coordinator by email at Accessibility Coordinator or by phone at 519-271-0250 ext. 5294
Mail:
City of Stratford
City Hall, P.O. Box 818 Stratford
ON N5A 6W1
Feedback
The City of Stratford welcomes input from the public to help identify ways to improve access to facilities, goods, and services. Members of the public are encouraged to share their comments or suggestions by contacting the Accessibility, Diversity, and Inclusion Coordinator at the City of Stratford or complete the “Contact Us” section on the City of Stratford website.
